PROSECUTOR URGES POLITICAL REFORM

Albany County District Attorney Slams Jennings, Top Cops In Crime Fight

ALBANY -- A "political fiefdom" of Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, the
city police chief and the county sheriff must end for law enforcement
to improve, District Attorney David Soares said.

In a stinging answer Thursday to local criticism of his stance on the
U.S. war on drugs, the first-term prosecutor said Jennings should
focus on city redevelopment and stay out of the operation of the
police department.

"He has been running that department," Soares said of Jennings,
noting the mayor has gone through four police chiefs in the past two
years. "It's time to remove the politics."

Soares said the local furor over a speech he gave in Canada
questioning the effectiveness of U.S. drug policy is just the latest
of what was previously a behind-the-scenes effort by Jennings,
Sheriff James Campbell and other Democrats to undermine his
credibility since his surprise defeat of Democratic nominee Paul
Clyne in the 2004 primary.

Jennings said he has more things to worry about than who is DA: "My
comments were simply that we have laws he's supposed to enforce."

"I'm sorry David is so paranoid about this," Jennings replied. "I
thought he was part of the team."

Soares was responding to sharp criticism from Jennings, Tuffey and
Campbell over a speech he gave Tuesday in Vancouver, British
Columbia, urging Canadian officials to steer clear of America's
failed drug policies.

In a phone interview Thursday from Canada, Soares said nothing in his
address to the 17th International Conference on the Reduction of
Drug-Related Harm was any different from what he touted during his
victorious 2004 campaign.

He characterized the attacks of Jennings, Tuffey and Campbell as a
blessing in disguise.

"This has brought it into the open two years before 2008," he said,
referring to his next election. "This has just moved up the time
frame. They want me? They'll have to go after me."

Almost 60 percent of Albany County's overall crime and more than 79
percent of its violent crime occurs in fewer than 75 blocks in the
city of Albany, he said.

"I would say to the mayor, he should focus on economic development
and allow the lawmen to enforce the law," Soares said.

On Tuesday, Soares got a standing ovation from 1,500 convention
delegates representing 93 countries when he said U.S. lawmakers,
judges and prosecutors know the system doesn't work well, "but they
support it anyway because it provides law enforcement officials with
lucrative jobs."

He urged Canadian officials to steer clear of the United States'
"ineffective" drug policies, in remarks that echoed criticisms he
made of New York's strict Rockefeller Drug Laws during his election
campaign two years ago. At that time, he soundly defeated one-term
incumbent Clyne, a Rockefeller Drug Laws supporter, in a contentious
Albany County Democratic primary.

In an interview Thursday, Soares questioned the city's overtime
spending on police. He noted how the sheriff's department has primary
responsibility only for the Port of Albany and the bus station. "Why
not open the doors and allow them to go in" to work other parts of
the city, he suggested.

"I don't personally know Jim Tuffey," Soares said. "What I can give
him is the same chance I would expect to be given to me. We need to
establish a closer relationship. But I'm not naive. He works for a
mayor who does not support me and who I know is working very hard
against my initiatives. That's an insult."

Tuffey, who is new on the job, said he aims to be up-front with
people and has nothing personal against Soares. "I'm not going to get
into a war of words with someone on foreign soil," he said. "But we
are making a difference on the streets of Albany."

Campbell said it isn't his style to go after anyone. He said he's
offered to help Soares but the DA seems to prefer to work
independently. "All the police agencies work together," Campbell
said. "It's not I, it's we. Did he think the law enforcement agencies
weren't going to respond to his statements?"

Animosity between Soares and Democrats in the Albany County
Legislature is also a simmering issue. Soares filed a lawsuit last
month to protect a top aide from being forced into a new job title.
Legislators in November voted to change Christian D'Alessandro's
title from chief investigator to director of operations, at the same
$81,600 annual salary, because he does not live in the city. The
former police commander was fired from the Albany police department
when he questioned detectives' overtime.

Soares plans to fly home today and return to the office on Monday. He
admitted, wryly, that his first year as district attorney has been
contentious. "But I refuse to go along to get along," he said. "They
have taken every opportunity to criticize my administration. But I am
committed to bringing change to Albany County. And I'm hoping to
usher in an era of democracy and let the sun set on the era of thuggery."

He stressed that his position on drug investigations is that law
enforcement must be in it for the long haul, not just satisfied with
$20 busts. "My message was well received in Vancouver," he said. "I
was proud and honored to represent Albany County at an international
conference. It was put on the map. So it's a little infuriating to
learn this was the reaction back home."

Soares stressed that he has a good relationship with the cops on the
street. He said police management is the problem. "Look at our record
and look at what the street crimes unit has been able to accomplish," he said.

"But we are dealing with people whose hate for me is vicious. And I
will not let them drive me out."