Darren Dopp's $10,000 Fine Stays, Says Commission On Public Integrity

Darren Dopp

The Daily Politics
by Celeste Katz, July 8, 2010 12:42 PM
Commission On Public Integrity Points To Court Decision On Troopergate: Updated
LINK

The state Commission on Public Integrity, which last year fined former top Eliot Spitzer aide Darren Dopp the maximum fine of $10,000 for his role in the Troopergate scheme, today notes that a judge backed up their decision despite Dopp's efforts to fight it.
Eliot Spitzer
"Yesterday, after a thorough review, a judge upheld the Commission's decision to fine Darren Dopp $10,000 for his central role in the Troopergate matter. In March 2008, a different judge rejected Mr. Dopp's unfounded effort to prevent the Commission's hearing that resulted in this fine," CPI Executive Director Barry Ginsburg said in a statement.

"This case was never about the release of public documents. Rather, this case stands for the critically important principle that the State Code of Ethics bars a State official from misusing the State Police to gather damaging information and create official-looking documents to plant a negative news story about a political opponent. Our free and democratic society simply does not, and cannot, condone such abuse of a law enforcement agency."

If you need a refresher course on Troopergate, there's plenty to read here, but in a very tiny nutshell, the various probes examined whether Dopp and others abused their government positions as part of Spitzer's plan to use the State Police to smear ex-state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (who's now awaiting appeal on a separate corruption conviction).

Update: Our Glenn Blain heard back from Dopp, who said:

"It will take me some time to sort things out, but I really don’t think Mr. Ginsberg is correct in his statement. The court didn’t review the facts at all. It dismissed the petition on a very narrow procedural ground. Specifically, it said my court papers weren’t served properly. I’m going to try to figure out how to correct the problem and I’ll continue my appeal. Basically, I contend that the Commission made many errors in the case and that the Inspector General was correct in his assessment that the case was tainted. Someday a judge is going to take a close look at the facts in this case. I’m confident that when that happens, I’ll prevail."

Article 78

Commission on Public Integrity Upholds Dopp's Fine
By Azi Paybarah, WNYC.org, Thursday, July 08, 2010 - 12:58 PM
LINK

The head of the New York State Commission on Public Integrity announced this afternoon that the $10,000 fine levied against Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s former spokesman, Darren Dopp, was upheld.

As the head of the commission says in a public statement, Dopp was found to have violated the State Code of Ethics when in 2007 he asked state police to keep a record of state Senator Joe Bruno’s travel.

Bruno had frequently traveled using a state aircraft. Spitzer’s people said much of Bruno’s traveling was for campaign purposes. Bruno denied it, and said he was following the current laws at the time.

Dopp’s argument that he was just asking the state police to collect data about a public official using a state aircraft was, apparently, rejected.

Here's the commission’s director, Barry Ginsberg:

"Yesterday, after a thorough review, a judge upheld the Commission's decision to fine Darren Dopp $10,000 for his central role in the Troopergate matter. In March 2008, a different judge rejected Mr. Dopp's unfounded effort to prevent the Commission's hearing that resulted in this fine.

"This case was never about the release of public documents. Rather, this case stands for the critically important principle that the State Code of Ethics bars a State official from misusing the State Police to gather damaging information and create official-looking documents to plant a negative news story about a political opponent. Our free and democratic society simply does not, and cannot, condone such abuse of a law enforcement agency."

Acting Supreme Court Justice Kimberly O’Connor did not rule on the merits of Dopp’s case, but instead on a procedural matter. She wrote in her decision: “[S]ervice upon the State shall be made by personally delivering process to the Attorney General or to an assistant, within the State. Petitioner’s failure to personally serve the Attorney General is a jurisdictional defect requiring dismissal of the petition."

Dopp’s role in asking the state police to create travel records was outlined in Andrew Cuomo’s 2007 report.