Posted on 01/19/2003 1:15:49 AM PST by kattracks
ALBANY - Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter was secretly prosecuted in Albany County in 2001 after he was snared in an Internet sex sting operation, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.Ritter, who lives in the Albany suburb of Delmar, is now a high-profile critic of President Bush's war preparations.
He was arrested by Colonie Police in June 2001 on a misdemeanor charge after he allegedly had a sexual discussion on the Internet with an undercover investigator he thought was an underage girl, law enforcement sources disclosed on condition of anonymity.
The case was sealed, and Colonie officials declined to release the arrest records, explaining the matter was adjourned in local court in contemplation of dismissal.
The Schenectady Daily Gazette reported yesterday that Albany District Attorney Paul Clyne fired veteran Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Preiser last week for failing to inform him of the case against Ritter.
Clyne said that as a "sensitive" case, it should have been brought to his attention.
Ritter, who has made frequent appearances on network television after speaking to the Iraq National Assembly last year, could not be reached for comment.
Joe Mahoney
I don't disagree with the points you have made on this thread, but I do want to point out that I watched an interview with the lead FBI agent in charge of the recent sting out of Texas that lead to the arrest of Pete Townsend. He stated that after the FBI agents "scrubbed" the records and found the credit card numbers and names of the participants, they fowarded almost all of them to the LOCAL authorities to do the actual arrests.
The locals then decided how to proceed, they did not have to report back to the FBI.
I am totally speculating here, but this could be the same sort of case. A large sting was undertaken and then passed on to Scotts local law enforcement agency and they took it from there. As for the sealing of the prosecution, I don't know what the reason for that was.
Are you serious?
Hmmm.....the person to ask would be that fired assistant district attorney in charge of the case. She might know, but I bet she's not going to talk. I wonder why she'd risk losing her job over Scott Ritter?
What I find amazing is that this was clamped down & clamped down (dare I say it?) hard. We didn't hear about it from June, 2001 until now. That means that the reporters who cover the courthouse (usually a fruitful source of leaks from gossipy court personnel) didn't hear about it--and possibly didn't know about it. If Ritter had a court appearance--and that's a big IF because his lawyer may have appeared in the case without his presence--the courtroom itself may have either been sealed or the case wasn't put on the court calendar or put on the court calendar with the name obscured or the court hearing set at a weird time, like 6 a.m. It means not one cop in that department said a word about busting Ritter.
Most interesting--but this raises more questions, doesn't it?
No, the S&M Inspector (what a great job description) was fired as soon as he was outed.
So9
Something tells me Yep we'll be seeing him again .. I'm just wondering who on Fox will interview him this time .. LOL
It would appear that, for the public's interest, the New York Bar Association needs to evaluate her status as a practicing attorney. To aid in their evaluative process please forward any complaints, information, or criticism you might have to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Third Judicial Department :
Committee on Professional Standards
A.E. Smith Building, 22nd Fl.
Capitol Station Annex, P.O. Box 7013
Albany, NY 12225-0013
(Telephone: 1-518-474-8816)
Isn't DAnconia55 right that the judge would also have to agree to keep the matter sealed?
I hope David Asman gets him...I e-mailed him with the link & the story - I'm guessing he'd be one to go after Ritter.
It would appear that, for the public's interest, the New York Bar Association needs to evaluate her status as a practicing attorney. To aid in their evaluative process please forward any complaints, information, or criticism you might have to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Third Judicial Department :
Committee on Professional Standards
A.E. Smith Building, 22nd Fl.
Capitol Station Annex, P.O. Box 7013
Albany, NY 12225-0013
(Telephone: 1-518-474-8816)
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