Yikes, Ritter arrest on internet sex-sting before his about-face on Iraq.
Ran across this on FADG:
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.<<
More at:
timesunion.com.
Ritter's change of heart appears to have come after his arrest. On the Foreign Policy Discussion thread, Hawkmoon suggested that Ritter would have lost his secret clearance over this, and the arrest record would have made him unable to obtain most, if not all, of the jobs he was qualified for.
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