What's going on between the Albany Times-Union and the Albany County district attorney's office?

When Albany County district attorney David Soares and two of his investigators flew to Orlando, Fla., the end of February to conduct his flamboyant raid on two Signature Pharmacies as part of an alleged steroid distribution ring, it appears that Soares may have given ample advance notice to the Times-Union so that they could be there with cameras and crews to provide "exclusive" coverage of Soares' expenditure of Albany County tax dollars in an operation which should have been conducted by federal agencies.

So much for the confidentiality and integrity of the investigation.

There has been a lot of finger pointing at Soares, criticized for his handling of the entire operation and there have been allegations that Soares sought out publicity for his foray into Florida, perhaps giving the Times-Union advance information of the ongoing investigation, enough so that the newspaper could send a reporter and photographer to Orlando to be on hand for an "exclusive" story about the raid and resulting arrests.

An attorney for some of the defendants said that the defendants had tried to turn themselves in previous to the raid after learning of the investigation, but Soares claimed that the investigation would have been compromised if anyone had been allowed to turn themselves in on the sealed indictments. After all, if the defendants had turned themselves in, the Times Union wouldn't have had their "exclusive" and Soares wouldn't have been able to mug for the cameras, maybe hoping for an appearance on Today or Good Morning America---maybe Entertainment Tonight.

The attorney accused Soares and law enforcement of making the arrests with "a camera crew in tow" just to sensationalize the case.

And you know what, we think she's right. The Times Union admits to being camped out in Orlando for two days prior to the raid, claiming that they "had learned" there might be a raid. Seems like the Times-Union may have had inside information---like from the inside of Soares' office.

The attorney has challenged the integrity of the investigation, saying that "we believe there's defects in what went on in Albany County".

We concur, especially after learning that Soares has been practicing law and acting as district attorney since October 2006 after failing to renew his attorney registration. In essence, he's been practicing law without a valid license.

We're a strong supporter that those people in law enforcement and prosecutors who are busy pointing the finger at everyone else should be held to a higher standard and that they should be of the utmost integrity and certainly in full compliance with the law.

After all, it doesn't sit well with the public if the officer or prosecutor is in violation of the law themselves while causing the arrest of others, sending them to jail and imposing financial penalties. Do as I say, not as I do isn't well accepted by the public when it comes to the actions of police officers and prosecutors.

The public has the right to expect that public officials like David Soares will comply with the law. If Soares is going to play being district attorney and pan for the cameras in that role, then he's obligated to comply with the law and in particular, insure that his attorney registration is current.

Last October, the Appellate Division, First Department suspended 815 attorneys for failing to re-register and to pay their fees. Based on earlier rulings, the court found that failure to pay and register constitutes professional misconduct and warranted discipline.

In our view, Soares is no better than those 815 attorneys and that he too engaged in behavior which constitutes professional misconduct which warrants discipline.

The North Country Gazette received a tip that Soares' registration was in arrears, saying that it appeared he was too busy readying for his national media coverage to renew his license to practice law.

Engaging in the unlicensed practice of law in New York State is a misdemeanor. When you fail to renew your drivers license, or your business licenses, you don't get 10 months grace period and four notices as afforded Soares.

"What does this say about the validity of the steroid indictments?" the tipster asked, and about the "search and seizure" in which Soares participated.

The North Country Gazette conducted its own inquiry and confirmed with the Office of Court Administration as well as the attorney registry for the state that Soares' registration had indeed expired but OCA said he was still admitted to practice law until he was sanctioned by the state Supreme Court.

While it is extremely troubling that apparently Soares is exercising a dual standard of law, it appears that there's a troubling relationship between him and the Times-Union as it is now been learned by The North Country Gazette that at the same time the information relating to Soares' law license lapse was provided to NCG, it was also provided to the Times-Union who opted to sit on it and not advise the public.

Is it a case of political correctness? Is the newspaper running interference and covering for Soares? What else are they covering up, shielding the public from learning?

In 1998, the news, editorial and business leadership of The New York Times jointly declared that "our greatest strength is the authority and reputation" of the newspaper. "We must do nothing that would undermine or dilute it and everything possible to enhance it".

"At a time of growing and even justified public suspicion about the impartiality, accuracy and integrity of some journalists and some journalism, it is imperative that The Times and its staff maintain the highest possible standards to insure that we do nothing that might erode readers' faith and confidence in our news columns".

The Albany Times-Union would do well to adopt and practice the policy of The Times. After the questionable relationship between Soares and the Times-Union in the possible prior disclosure of the pending raid in the steroid case, the revelation that they were made aware of the lapse of Soares law license and chose not to inform the public is troubling, to say the least.

Just how much can the public trust what the "mainstream media" reports or perhaps most importantly, what they don't report. 3-26-07

© 2007 North Country Gazette