Posted on 01/20/2003 9:38:04 AM PST by Jean S
Scott Ritter criminal case costs prosecutor her job
Handling of charges against ex-U.N. inspector sparks action
Staff reports
First published: Monday, January 20, 2003
Colonie-- The 2001 arrest of former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter came to light late last week when an Albany County assistant district attorney was fired over her handling of the case.
Ritter -- an outspoken critic of President Bush's plan for war against Iraq -- was arrested by Colonie police in June 2001 after he allegedly was caught in an Internet sex-sting operation, according to a published report.
Ritter, of Delmar, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge after he allegedly had a sexual chat on the Internet with an undercover investigator posing as an underage girl, The Daily News reported Sunday, citing law enforcement sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A judge sealed the case after it was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal. Colonie police on Sunday declined to discuss the case, citing the sealing order.
Last week, District Attorney Paul Clyne fired Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Preiser for her handling of the case, saying Preiser failed to notify him about a "sensitive" case.
Clyne said he launched an internal inquiry into the matter after a reporter from The Daily Gazette of Schenectady asked about a case involving Ritter.
"Based on that inquiry, I determined that I should have been apprised of the existence of the case," Clyne told the Times Union. "I was not, so Cindy Preiser was fired for failure to keep me abreast of what was going on in Colonie court." Clyne declined to discuss Ritter's arrest.
No one answered the phone at Ritter's home on Sunday.
Ritter, a 41-year-old native of Gainesville, Fla., moved to the Capital Region two years ago with his wife and twin daughters.
Ritter once led a weapons inspection team in Iraq, but in recent months he's gained attention as an outspoken critic of a new U.S. war with Iraq. Ritter has aired his views on CNN, at news conferences and in numerous interviews.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Ritter, then a Marine, was sent to Saudi Arabia to help determine where Saddam Hussein was hiding Scud missiles. Ritter left the Marine Corps after the war and was hired by the U.N. to lead a weapons inspection team specializing in concealment.
At the time, Ritter said Iraq was "winning its bid to retain its prohibited weapons."
But Ritter seemingly has had a change of heart and now speaks out about a U.S. war against Iraq. He claims inspections could keep Hussein in check.
In a move that led many to label him a traitor, Ritter on Sept. 8 became the first American to speak to the Iraq National Assembly. He told the Middle East nation that it needed to allow weapons inspectors to return.
Why would a seasoned ADA stick her neck out to protect a high visibility perv? It doesn't make sense. My bet is that there is a lot more being covered up here. Ritter has lived in that area for two years. Why would an ADA cover for him unless she was well paid. Is the charge bad enough that it would effect Ritter's credibility? He didn't have any. And, if the ADA covered for him here, what else did she cover? How did the DA find out about this charge? Is the DA searching to see if there were/are other coverups? If not, why not?
I smell a DNC/Hillary operation.
Your questions are valid. Something is going on here.
By the same token, why is it that the local TV station (WNYT) had video of the arrest and a mug shot of "William Ritter" -- yet, couldn't seem to connect the affair with Scott Ritter? Who, as you note, had been a high-visibility resident of the area for two years.
Incompetent journalists? Or an arranged oversight? By whom? In whose behalf?
I suggest that anybody who might know the answers to these questions will not want to reveal them...
Even more reason to question the whitewash job on what turns out to be the second arrest.
Update: TV station has video of Ritter bust at BK. See post #53, from local TV station WGRB.
His arrest wasn't even the first time he'd done it there. The first time he showed up to meet a "girl" he'd chatted up on the Internet, the cops told him he'd been 'stung' and he should consider it a warning. The second time he did it -- only a few months later -- they arrested him.
Ritter has two daughters. The news story doesn't tell us how old they are, but if I was his wife, I'd start wondering about this guy. Someone that high-profile, who gets the courtesy of a warning, and who can't stop doing it... has a problem.
If you were Ritter's wife, you'd be a Russian spy.
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