GOVERNOR FAULTS SOARES' REMARKS

At function advocating expanded DNA registry, Pataki calls district
attorney's drug law criticisms "disappointing"

ALBANY -- Republican Gov. George Pataki on Tuesday called Albany
County District Attorney David Soares' criticisms of state and
national drug laws "disappointing" but credited the Democrat for apologizing.

Pataki lowered his voice when discussing Soares' remarks at a
conference in Vancouver last week. "I thought it was disappointing,
particularly toward police officers who put their lives on the line
not because it's a lucrative job, but because they believe in
protecting people, and it was appropriate he apologized," the governor said.

Advertisement In a speech in which he urged Canadians not to emulate
U.S. laws, Soares suggested America's war on drugs is being fought to
provide law enforcement officials with "lucrative" jobs while
resulting in a buildup in prison populations. His remarks angered
police, and he clarified his position Monday, saying he admires cops
and didn't intend to demean them, but stuck to his position that drug
laws are unfair to many New Yorkers.

Pataki defended the state's drug laws, saying they've been improved
over the years but that tougher penalties for drug kingpins are
needed. The Assembly, on the other hand, proposed this week to
further soften some of the strict Rockefeller-era drug laws.

Pataki's comments came during a push to expand the state's DNA
registry so that every convict would be required to submit samples
that could link criminals to unsolved crimes. He was joined by
survivors of crime victims and Ballston Spa residents Mary and
Douglas Lyall, whose daughter Suzanne has been missing since 1998.

Standing before police, district attorneys, Albany Mayor Jerry
Jennings and Police Chief James Tuffey, Pataki said most felons and
people convicted of misdemeanors are required to submit DNA samples
under current law. He said leads could develop for investigators if
all convicts were in the data bank.

"The citizens of New York state deserve to have the best protection
possible," Douglas Lyall said.

Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, D-Brooklyn, Codes Committee chairman, said
his Democrat-led chamber intends to pass for the first time a DNA
bill nearly identical to the one passed overwhelmingly by the
Republican-controlled Senate for the past seven years.

The Assembly plan will include a provision missing in the Senate bill
that samples given to law enforcement officials by people found not
guilty of charges be destroyed. Pataki withheld comment on the measure.