Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, left, listens as Albany County District Attorney David Soares discusses s'mores with County Executive Dan McCoy during a Lawson Lake County Park event in 2014. A decade later, things are much chillier between McCoy and Soares, as Soares suggests McCoy exposed Soares' using a grant for his own bonuses, causing the county Democratic Committee to not endorse Soares for reelection.
ALBANY — Albany County District Attorney David Soares claims attention to the bonuses he gave himself amounts to a manufactured controversy and a political hit. His accusation, if we decide to take it seriously, raises a question: Who delivered the blow?
Is Soares suggesting the alleged hit is the work of county Comptroller Sue Rizzo? She says the bonuses totaling roughly $23,000 were discovered during a routine review, leading the county to ask an outside law firm to investigate. Rizzo subsequently contacted state officials, including the comptroller and attorney general.
Or does Soares claim that there’s a broader conspiracy here?
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
“We don’t think Comptroller Rizzo was acting alone but was taking orders from someone else.” Soares said via email. “That person is Jeff Jamison, who is legal counsel to Albany County Executive Dan McCoy. It is naïve to assume neither of those individuals are involved.”
As evidence, Soares points to Rizzo’s having said she wasn’t aware of the outside legal review until Jan. 30, after it was completed.
“If that were true, who authorized the use of what is likely thousands of dollars in county funds to secure an outside legal opinion, without the knowledge of the county’s fiscal watchdog?” Soares asked, adding the work by Bond, Schoeneck & King would have required approval by the county executive’s office.
“Any claim of ignorance on the part of Mr. Jamison and Mr. McCoy is tantamount to an admission that the county executive has no control of his own operation,” Soares said.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Well, McCoy hasn’t claimed ignorance of the investigation. In fact, to my knowledge, McCoy hadn’t said anything at all about Soares' decision to pay himself $22,308 from state Aid to Prosecution grant money provided to boost staff retention and morale.
But on Monday, his spokesperson, Mary Rozak, responded forcefully to Soares' accusation and provided a detailed timeline showing the county’s process at work.
“This is not political, and this is not a political hit,” Rozak said, adding that McCoy knew there was an issue requiring the hiring of outside counsel but did not know specifics. “There’s a process, and we followed the process… Is the DA suggesting that if you know of impropriety you can’t report it because it’s always going to be political? That makes no sense.”
Rizzo, meanwhile, told me she “didn’t talk to Dan McCoy at all” and said Soares is “deflecting.”
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
“I’m not involved in any conspiracy,” Rizzo added. “I’m a comptroller, and that’s what I’ve got to focus on.”
The broader, more important question is whether Soares did something wrong. If granting himself the bonus money was improper or even illegal, as the outside legal review suggested, few will grant the district attorney much sympathy, political hit or not.
If you think you have political enemies, it’s wise not to hand them ammunition.
Soares, though, insists he didn’t do anything wrong, despite having pledged to give the money back. In a County Legislature hearing last week, he and some lawmakers suggested that questions regarding the money could have been handled with a few congenial phone calls and without the drama and fuss.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
That sounded a bit too chummy to me — and even worse to Rozak.
“Excuse me, but what is that? That’s a cover-up,” she said. “That’s a violation of the public trust.”
Those of you unfamiliar with Albany County might be surprised to learn that all the major players in this story are Democrats. This is intra-party warfare.
Soares maintains that he was targeted because of his loud opposition to elements of bail reform and other changes by Democrats to the state’s criminal justice statutes. Regarding McCoy, he said: “There are issues regarding personnel that go back a number of years… I can’t be specific about those issues, but it’s safe to say there is lingering animosity.”
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
For what it’s worth, I think the bonuses are indefensible — an egregious error in judgment, particularly from a district attorney who, with a base salary of more than $200,000, was already the county’s highest-paid elected official.
But will they matter? Will they cost Soares his job?
Soares was a reelection shoo-in a month ago, lacking an opponent, but that’s changed. Attorney Lee Kindlon has entered the Democratic primary, creating a replay of the 2012 race, which Soares won handily.
For Soares, then, the scenario could be worse. Though the bonuses apparently cost him the party’s endorsement, Soares can rest easier knowing Kindlon also didn’t get it. Nobody did, which would seem to leave Soares in decent electoral shape.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Barring additional revelations or criminal charges, here’s betting the bonuses will play a relatively small role in the coming election. The consequential topics will be crime, bail reform and quality-of-life issues central to the lives of voters.
“The violence and all the murders in Albany?” Kindlon said. “(Soares) owns that and blaming others can only get you so far.”
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Nikkei Editorial
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
visit website
