Albany -- U.S. attorney's office to look into possible charges against ex-U.N. weapons inspector who was arrested in a 2001 Internet sex sting
By CAROL DeMARE and ANNE MILLER, Staff writers First published: Saturday, January 25, 2003
Federal authorities have obtained the sealed records in the case of former U.N. chief weapons inspector Scott Ritter for review in a possible federal prosecution on Internet crime charges, sources said Friday.
State Supreme Court Justice Joseph C. Teresi signed an order unsealing the Ritter file within the several days after a request by federal prosecutors in the Albany office of the U.S. attorney, sources said.
"We have no comment," said Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak, supervisor of the white collar unit of the Albany office. Pericak and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Spina Jr., who has been prosecuting computer crime cases for years, sought the unsealing of the records, sources said.
While legal experts said it's not unusual for federal prosecutors to go after information contained in state criminal files, the decision to examine Ritter's case is certain to draw criticism from supporters who feel Ritter is being singled out because of his outspoken views against a possible war in Iraq.
The June 2001 arrest of Ritter, 41, came to light over the past week in various media reports. He was charged with a Class B misdemeanor, the least serious state crime on the books, for allegedly setting up a sexual rendezvous with a person who he thought was a 16-year-old girl.
Ritter was unaware that he was chatting over the Internet with an undercover Colonie investigator posing as a teenage girl. Police were waiting for Ritter when he showed up at a Burger King in Menands to meet the girl. The case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, meaning the charges would be dropped and the records sealed if he didn't break the law for a six-month period.
The deal was negotiated between Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Preiser and defense attorney Norah Murphy and was approved by Colonie Town Justice Peter Crummey. Last week, Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne fired Preiser. Clyne has refused to discuss the case other than to say his staff was told to inform him of all sensitive cases.
On Friday, Clyne was equally tight-lipped about the impending federal probe of Ritter.
"I can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of that report, primarily because you're asking me questions about a case that all the parties have acknowledged is sealed," Clyne said. "I can't comment on another law enforcement agency's dealings with a sealed file."
Ritter finally broke his silence Wednesday after days of negative publicity about his arrest, including reports he had tried to meet with a 14-year-old girl two months earlier, in April 2001, and was given a warning by Colonie police.
When Ritter resigned his position as chief weapons inspector in September 1998, he criticized the U.N. Security Council and the Clinton administration for having stymied the program. He has since become a major opponent of President Bush's plans for war against Iraq. He has traveled the country and gone to Iraq speaking on behalf of peace.
On Tuesday night, Ritter canceled a trip to Iraq because of all the publicity surrounding his arrest. He was dismayed that the 2-year-old Colonie case was revealed but refused to discuss the particulars. He insisted the case was dismissed and the record technically expunged.
Even in cases where state charges have been disposed of, the federal government can decide to prosecute on similar charges provided they are covered under federal law. It would not be double jeopardy, federal and state officials said.
A section of the state Criminal Procedure Law dealing with sealed records allows a law enforcement agency to single-handedly, without notifying the defense, make a motion in a superior court to obtain the records if the agency "demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court that justice requires that such records be made available to it."
Now that federal prosecutors in Albany have possession of the records, they must obtain permission from the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington before they can bring a prosecution.
A possible federal case against Ritter could include the charge of using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in criminal activity, sources said.
Over the last week, former prosecutors have questioned the way the Ritter case was handled. Albany County's Clyne, while not discussing the Ritter case, said he would not approve of charges involving the luring of a teenager girl over the Internet to a sexual encounter to be disposed of as a low-level dismissal. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Kinsella, who retired last year as head of the Albany office's Criminal Division and is now an attorney in private practice, feels Ritter may have gotten off easy.
"He was allegedly involved in what otherwise would be felony conduct, and it was charged as a Class B misdemeanor and disposed of and there's no apparent good reason for it, given the seriousness of the alleged conduct," Kinsella said.
It's about time the AP started telling at least a BIT of the truth and stopped blaming Scuddie's self inflicted problems on the VRWC.