Feds obtain sealed case of Ritter's arrest

AP | 1/25/03

[kattracks]

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Federal authorities have obtained the sealed records in the alleged Internet sex sting of former U.N. chief weapons inspector Scott Ritter to review for possible federal charges.

State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi signed an order Thursday requiring police and Albany County prosecutors to provide records and any evidence to the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office.

Federal authorities filed a motion earlier in the week to obtain the records to determine whether federal laws were violated, the Daily Gazette of Schenectady and the Times Union of Albany reported in Saturday editions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak refused to comment to the newspapers. A message to his office by The Associated Press was not immediately returned Saturday.

Ritter, 41, a critic of the Bush administration's push toward war with Iraq, acknowledged his June 2001 arrest this week in national television appearances but said he was prohibited from discussing details because the charges had been dismissed and the records sealed.

Ritter has suggested recent news reports about the arrest were an attempt to silence him. He said the publicity has forced him to cancel a recent trip to Baghdad, where he said he would have offered an alternative to military action.

Broadcast reports when he was arrested and recent newspaper reports have indicated Ritter was caught in an Internet sex sting, something he did not admit.

At the time of the arrest, NBC station WNYT-TV of Albany reported that William Scott Ritter Jr. -- Ritter's full name -- was charged with trying to lure an undercover police officer posing as a 16-year-old girl to a restaurant.

WNYT broadcast Ritter's mug shot but did not make the connection to his role as the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq during most of the 1990s.

He was charged with attempted endangerment of a child, a misdemeanor that carries up to 90 days in jail, reports said. The case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, meaning that if he stayed out of trouble for six months, the charges would disappear and the file would be sealed.

[ned13]

Crier is dead wrong. The Peter Crummey from NY is an avid Democrat and very active in the Albany area for the DNC.

[cyncooper]

I missed it, too. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is on TCM so we're watching that. I keep remembering Dreyfuss is a huge lib and can't enjoy it as much as I used to though.

And regarding this, now Crier has really gone WAY down in my opinion.

[AF68]

The UN showed no interest in helping the poor guy. I wonder what was in that notebook he was carrying? Oh well, he's probably enjoyed a nice acid bath by now.

[TLBSHOW]

I found this one but not the other one yet!

Greetings from Boston, Mr. Bush
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

This time, however, the matter is personal

[Howlin]

Am I wrong about this, or was Crier completely wrong about which judge it was that was on the Ritter case?

[cyncooper]

Crier is dead wrong. The Peter Crummey from NY is an avid Democrat and very active in the Albany area for the DNC.

Howlin, check this out. (!)

[nicmarlo]

The UN showed no interest in helping the poor guy.

I hope they pay for ALL their crimes against humanity.

[cyncooper]

Am I wrong about this, or was Crier completely wrong about which judge it was that was on the Ritter case?

From what I'm seeing stated here, she was about as wrong as she could be.

Now, Ritter obviously must have fed her the "Bush supporter, actually down in FLORIDA (the horror!), helping with the recount" story.

Well, well, well...I'll await further documentation, but it isn't looking very good for that particular performance of hers and her willingness to take the word of a child stalking pervert.

[Miss Marple]

ned, do you have some links to verify your statement? It would be rally helpful if you had an article or something. Personal knowledge is, of course, quite valuable, but in order to discredit these people we need something in the public record.

Howlin...I somehow feel that ned is correct.

[cake_crumb]

"The US Attorney's Office has not commented on the unsealing of Ritter's record. But the Times Union reported this move could result in further prosecution on the federal level."

OSTENSIBLY, they'll be looking to see if if his chat room predations can be considered federal offenses...which they might. There are different degrees of felonies.

Of course, now that the feds know it's THE Ritter who's telling us to ignore tortured kids in children's prisons in the name of peace, chanting "impeach Bush" and is the DARLING of the rabid left wing...you can betcha they're looking for something much deeper than this...if they haven't got it already.

LOL...they were probably checking right after the story broke on the NBC affiliate in Albany...days before the national news even started to bother with it.

[smith288]

Gee, and you thought you invented something here... ;)

[ned13]

I grew up in Albany and he is a friend of the family. I'm trying to search for some documentation but it's hard. I need to check the DNC fundraisers, especially when Hillary was in town.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

...Scott, Paul and Louis have told me about this Burger King plan, for next weekend...I'm not happy about it. If we ever have to use that, you won't have a friend left in this country, except for your team at Langley. You'll be hated by both Left, and Right. You've done so much already...I think this is too much to ask.

Well, it's not a step I've taken lightly, sir. But the only clean exit strategy is if I'm utterly discredited, and of no further use to Baghdad. I know my duty, Mr President.....

[Howlin]

I sure hope so. It infuriated me and I will surely blast Court Tv about it AGAIN if she was wrong......and ask for a retraction.

[Howlin]

I'm thinking we demand a retraction by Ms. Crier herself.

[eddie willers]

Maybe I am the one who posed as a 14-year-old girl and told him I wanted him to buy me a kid's meal and play with himself in front of me by the slide at the Burger King.

Not you!
(Pardek, maybe)

[cake_crumb]

"Of course; that's why Daschole has been pounding on Rush; why all the liberal/socialist/commies hate talk shows....."

Yep...the only problem is that conservatives are tired of being accused of things we aren't doing and never have done...we're not going to shut up until we're ready to shut up.

Which'll be the second Tuesday of next week.

[TLBSHOW]

Boston area School Teacher dares U.S. Secret Service to arrest him

I found it but the link looks like this


Object not found!
The requested URL was not found on this server. If you entered the URL manually please check your spelling and try again.
If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster
Error 404
www.democraticunderground.com
Sat Jan 25 21:55:54 2003
Apache

[Howlin]

But he IS the judge that oversaw Ritter's case, because I KNOW the name of the judge who went to Florida to work for Bush during the recount.

It most certainly is NOT Crummey who went down there.

I just want to verify that Crummey oversaw this case before I light into Crier and Court TV.

[Mo1]

Huh??

What's up?