ALBANY, N.Y. -- The State Commission on Public Integrity released a Notice of Reasonable Cause Thursday against three former Spitzer administration officials, Richard Baum, Darren Dopp, William Howard and former Acting State Police Superintendent Preston Felton.
According to the CPI, all four violated the Public Officers Law by creating and releasing documents to the media with the intention of damaging then-Senator Joe Bruno. The commission is not charging former Governor Spitzer.
"There is presently no evidence at this point that anyone other than these four individuals violated the Public Officers Law," said CPI Spokesman Walter Ayres.
Two of the four, Baum and Howard, reached a settlement with the commission. Felton and Dopp are fighting charges that they compromised the integrity and independence of the State Police in directing troopers to recreate Bruno's travel records.
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In a statement, Dopp said, "The Commission's investigation was compromised from the beginning and after a year has produced a report that is more concerned with validating the improper conduct of the commission staff than getting at the truth."
Dopp maintains every action he took was at the request of the media and at the specific direction of the governor. Bruno said he too questions the commission's findings.
“I personally find it hard to believe that four operatives, who report to the chief executive and the chief executive is left out of the process, that seems very unseemly, kinda hard to explain," Bruno said.
Several recent media reports have called into question the integrity of the commission's investigation. Ayres said the reports are without merit.
"They didn't come from the commission. They're based either on anonymous sources or from people who are subjects of the investigation who may not have an interest in presenting both sides of the story," Ayres said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Spitzer said the report confirms he understood the information to be public and its release proper and said the former governor cooperated fully with the commission’s investigation. But the commission said that's not the case.
"They tried to stop us from getting our hands on documents,” Ayres said. “They told us they'd given us all the documents when in fact they have not."
But he said regardless of its critics, the report itself shows the investigation was thorough.
"Twelve people unanimously decided that these are the charges that need to be brought. We pursue investigations where they go, that no one has been treated unfairly, nobody has been protected," Ayres said.
The CPI investigation is still open. Ayers said if more evidence is brought to the table, more people could be charged, including Spitzer.
Governor Spitzer cooperated fully with the Commission’s thorough and exhaustive investigation and as the report makes clear there is no evidence that he violated the Public Officers Law. Indeed, the report confirms what Governor Spitzer has said throughout: that he understood the information to be public and accordingly its release was proper and obligatory. He is saddened by the toll this investigation has taken on public servants who were simply trying to do their jobs.
The commission’s investigation was compromised from the beginning and after a year has produced a report that is more concerned with validating the improper conduct of the commission staff than getting at the truth.
It is disappointing that others in the case have decided to settle with the commission, but I understand why they did. It presents a tremendous hardship to stand up to the commission, but I am determined to do so. I will contest the charges because I do not believe I did anything wrong in releasing public records at the request of the media and at the specific direction of the Governor. I can and will refute the commission’s claims and look forward to doing so in the appropriate forum.