UN's Ritter faced sex rap

New York Daily News ^ | 1/19/03 | Joe Mahoney

[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

[Loyalist]

The case was dismissed for whatever reason... That means by the rule of law he was found innocent and should be judged so...

Dismissal of a case does not necessarily mean a finding of innocence; it means the prosecution doesn't think it has sufficient evidence with which a judge or a properly instructed jury could reasonably convict.

Insufficiency or absence of evidence does not equal exoneration or proof of innocence in law or fact.

[jimbo123]

It's a first time offender deal. The suspect aggrees to keep his nose clean for a period of time and then the record is sealed without prosecution.

[marajade]

We don't know the reason of the dismissal because its been sealed.... I may not have chosen my words carefully but my judgment on the matter still stands...

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I've got a friend - a former police officer - who used to do just such work. He would sign in with a name implying he was a young teen girl, and he would get hit after hit - just left and right.

[marajade]

That's different... I would put that more in like a diversion program of some sort... City of Phoenix does it with domestic violence and theft cases...

[Diddle E. Squat]

OK, I don't quite get how the timeline supports Dems being behind this. June '01, one could easily draw the conclusion that it was an unsuccessful attempt by the Bush admin. to gain leverage and silence Ritter. Of course I am not claiming that, but that seems more believable than the claim that this is Hillary and the Dems. For the latter to me more believable, it would have had to have taken place in '98 or '99. What utility was there for them in going after Ritter in 6/01, before 911 happened? He had already turned to their side and performed loyally since '99?

Or is the claim that the Dems did Ritter a favor by having this sealed and buried?

[Mr. Mojo]

I've been telling youse guys this for a long time.....Not only is Ritter at traitor, he's also a pre-vert.

[Cultural Jihad]

Your logic would declare that soliciting for murder should be perfectly legal, too. But let's take a more basic look at this. Consider the fact that people are routinely cited for speeding. No one is usually harmed directly. It is a fair and legal and perfecly Constitutional endeavor to cite speeders on the road because of the general carnage which ensues when people speed. Are you willing to state that speeding is not a infraction or should not be?

[sultan88]

"Now we know why Ritter's become such a ClintonTool..."

Now, things are starting to make sense.

[bvw]

Yes, you and CJ are correct in upbraiding me for being a mite too careless -- in this case I'm speaking to philosophy, to a ideal. The reality is that men who chat-up with "young hot things" on the internet or on phone chat rooms can and do find themselves in lust with a police officer and the fruits of that lust are jail, fines and all the distress the prosecutor cares to throw.

Hey, I'm even, at times, for that in some regard -- I remember when some dweeb tried chatting up my 14 year old daughter -- which I caught using SpectreSoft. Yet -- what did I do then? I told her to stay away from such chats with strangers. Yet in the bigger picture, I can't justify entrappment, "virtual" victims, even in such cases as these. The remedy is otherwise --raising social expectations, and giving the victim's protections, besides such stings using fake victims.

[marajade]

Your daughter is lucky... Not all children have parents such as you who love them... Just recently, a Glendale, AZ, police officer was convicted for committing such a crime... except in his case he took it further and actually met up with the juvenile and molested them...

[jimbo123]

Who really thinks this was the first time Ritter solicited underage children via the internet?

[bvw]

Solicting for murder

Well, that's interesting and valid ... for soliciting a murder. The equivalent in a more similar case some jerk of a parent who solicts some internet stranger on behalf of her teenage daughter -- there is a case of that a few years ago too.

[Sawdring]

I wonder why Drudge won't run this headline? If he runs it, the networks will be forced to come down on the issue.

[marajade]

I'm all for civil liberties and that... but there are valid reasons why crimes such as these where the state is the victim do serve the public good...

[marajade]

Your link didn't really cite that the case was dismissed or that he entered a diversion program... what was your source?

[Diddle E. Squat]

Probably getting more facts, the better to tease for tonight's show. I would think the party affiliations of all involved would be critical elements to the story. I haven't read the whole thread, but from the latter responses it seems that all this information has yet to be revealed.

[Miss Marple]

No, you are misunderstanding. My theory is that this is the tip of the iceberg, and that there are probably several cover-ups of things Mr. Ritter is involved in...all being the reason that he changed his position.

This story has come to light from a leak. One theory was that someone in the DA's office or the clerk's office spilled the beans.

[Jackie]

The president didn't announce the intended formation of an Office of Homeland Security until after 9/11/01.

Homeland Security's component parts have been in place awaiting official formation. In the interim, Ritter's outrageous performances on the various TV shows have led to HomSec's uncovering the misdemeanor charge and most likely other damaging information which will also be leaked.

Ritter needed to be silenced.

And he has been.

This story could be a huge distraction.

[Catspaw]

Likeliest explanation that occurs to me is that some federal agency told her that hushing the matter up was a matter of national security. Would explain the judge going along.

Those requests do not go to some lowly ADA, nor is an ADA authorized to make the decision. If she'd been approached by the feds, she would have to inform her boss. The feds go to the top guy, the District Attorney. The DA makes the decision whether to go along with it, then tells the ADA and the feds what he's going to do. In other words, it doesn't come from the bottom up, but the top down.