Office of the District Attorney

P. David Soares
County Court House
Albany, New York 12207
(518) 487-5460
(518) 487-5093 FAX

Public Integrity Unit Established

ALBANY, NY –  Vowing to make good on his commitment to “One standard of justice here in Albany County”, District Attorney P. David Soares announced today that he had established a Public Integrity Unit.

“I am very pleased to announce the formation of this unit which will report directly to me and which will be dedicated to the prosecution of crimes which, all too often, have not been prosecuted aggressively here in Albany County.

This unit will prosecute crimes of:

• official misconduct including voter fraud;
• white collar crimes such as violations of real estate law,
• violations of labor and fair wage laws;
• schemes to defraud by builders, contractors and other professionals;
• financial crimes such as insurance fraud and money laundering;
• crimes against the elderly;
• civil rights violations; and
• cyber crimes such as identity theft, phishing, pharming, and other schemes to use the internet to defraud consumers and businesses.

“The team I have assembled to conduct these investigations and prosecutions represents a broad range of skills ideally suited to the task,” Soares said. The Public Integrity Unit will report directly to the District Attorney and will initially consist of three fulltime Assistant District Attorneys: Chris Baynes, Linda Griggs, and Samuel Spitzberg.

“In addition to Christopher Baynes, an experienced trial prosecutor who formerly headed up our Drug Unit, we have added Linda Griggs, a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Albany Law School of Union University and Samuel L. Spitzberg, a former Captain of the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and Special Assistant US Attorney. Both of these new attorneys bring new skills to the office. Ms. Griggs has been a claims investigator for the insurance industry and Mr. Spitzberg has a Bachelors in Accounting from SUNY Albany and experience as a Senior Associate for both PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte & Touche,” Soares added.

Additionally, Soares announced the hiring of Laura Conley O’Hanlon who will be working in the Appeals Unit and helping out the Public Integrity Unit as needed. Ms. O’Hanlon, a Cum Laude graduate of Albany Law School, has worked for the NYS Tax Commission and in the Tax Division of the US Department of Justice.

“We are seeing an increasingly sophisticated criminal element, especially in the financial and cyber crimes arena,” Soares said. “We have had to add these new financial skills and experience to our team of attorneys to keep up.”

The Public Integrity Unit will initially be addressing some of the inventory of white collar crimes that had accumulated over the past several years. There are several ongoing investigations including the investigation of David W. Stephenson for the illegal sale of prescription drugs over the internet and the investigation into allegations of voter fraud in last year’s races for the Albany County Legislature. One area where the unit will be directing its attention is the interplay between public officials, private real estate development and the lobbying community. Additionally the unit will be following up on a number of leads that have been directed to our attention from Comptroller Hevesi.

Any individual wishing to report any suspected criminal activity, whether or not related to the Public Integrity Unit, should contact Chief Criminal Investigator Christian D’Alessandro either in writing or on the phone. However, members of the public concerned with issues of public integrity are advised to realize that the District Attorney’s Office only deals with violations of criminal law.

For further information contact: Richard Arthur