http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2004/072004/07022004/1418057
July
2, 2004
Democrats serve cops,
prosecutor
State police, U.S. attorney
subpoenaed by Democrats in eavesdropping lawsuit
By
George Whitehurst
Virginia
Democrats have pulled the state police and a federal prosecutor into their
eavesdropping lawsuit against the Republican Party.
Attorneys
for a group of Democratic lawmakers have subpoenaed state police Superintendent
Steven Flaherty and U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty to demand documents related to
the eavesdropping investigation.
They
also subpoenaed records from Attorney General Jerry Kilgore's office in an
effort to find out more about his top aide's involvement in the case.
Kilgore
and Flaherty have responded; McNulty's office has asked for more time to
determine what documents it can provide, according to Ken Smurzynski,
the Democrats' lead attorney. A McNulty spokesman declined comment.
The
controversy began in 2002 when the Republican Party of Virginia's top staffer
secretly listened to and taped a pair of Democratic conference calls.
McNulty
and the state police led the criminal probe of the matter, securing guilty
pleas from the chief eavesdropper and from three other players in the scandal.
More
than 30 former and current Democratic legislators--including Del. Albert
Pollard of White Stone--have filed suit against the RPV, arguing it bears
responsibility for its former executive director, Edmund A. Matricardi
III of Spotsylvania County, who eavesdropped on the Democratic teleconferences.
The
suit seeks unspecified damages, but a U.S. District judge ruled last week that
the plaintiffs can collect only $10,000 in statutory damages.
In
addition to the RPV, the suit targets Matricardi,
former RPV Chairman Gary Thomson, former House of Delegates Speaker S. Vance
Wilkins Jr. and former Wilkins aide Claudia D.
Tucker.
The
Democrats have sent questionnaires to all five defendants seeking details of
how and when they participated in or learned of the eavesdropping, and with
whom they shared any contents of the teleconferences.
"I
don't believe we know, at this point, with certainty, everyone who spoke to Mr.
Matricardi or anyone else who had either intercepted
a call or had the contents of those calls shared with
him or her," Smurzynski said. "The purpose
of this discovery is to determine who falls into that category, among other
purposes."
Of
particular interest to Smurzynski is the involvement
of Kilgore's chief of staff, Anne P. Petera.
Matricardi testified in open court last year that
after listening to the first teleconference, he twice called Petera. He said Petera encouraged
his eavesdropping and wanted details of the Democrats' political discussions.
Petera denied those accusations, saying she talked to Matricardi only once, and that she immediately condemned
his actions.
But
Petera's state cell-phone records show two calls from
Matricardi's phone shortly after the first
teleconference.
The
records also showed a 10-minute call from Petera's
cell phone to Kilgore's cell phone shortly after she received a copy of Matricardi's notes of the first Democratic call.
Kilgore's
office sent the case to the state police for investigation; and McNulty's
office was eventually asked to take over the matter.
Petera has never been charged with a crime, and
Kilgore has defended her actions.
But
Smurzynski wants to know exactly what role Petera played in the affair.
"Part
of the purpose of this discovery is to understand who knew what [and] when,"
Smurzynski said. "That includes Ms. Petera and others."
Lawyers
for both sides in the suit will meet Tuesday in Richmond for a pre-trial
conference, during which a trial date likely will be set.
To
reach GEORGE WHITEHURST: 540/374-5438, gwhitehurst@freelancestar.com
Fredericksburg.com,
605 William Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Copyright
2004, The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co. of
Fredericksburg, Va.
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains
copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically
authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our
efforts to advance understanding of political, democracy, scientific, and
social justice issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such
copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes. For
more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own
that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.