David Soares
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P. David Soares (born October 26, 1969, Brava, Cape Verde) is the current Albany County District Attorney. A Democrat, Soares previously worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Albany County.
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[edit] Personal life
Soares was born the youngest of the six children of Lucas and Lidia Soares. At age six, his family moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where his father worked as a carpenter. He received a Bachelor's Degree from Cornell University in communications. He graduated from Albany Law School in 1999. He married the former Tina Pantuso and currently have two children.
[edit] Law career
Soares worked his way through Albany Law School, working as an intern for the Albany County Airport Authority and later for the Albany County District Attorney's office. He was hired as an assistant district attorney upon graduation and worked with the Albany Law School AIDS law clinic for prisoner's legal services.
[edit] Political career
In 2004, Soares challenged incumbent District Attorney Paul Clyne in a primary, defeating him. Clyne continued on during the race on the Independence Party line through to the general election. Soares won in the general election in a three way race along with Republican Roger J. Cusick.
In October 2006, Soares opened investigations into New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi for defrauding the government. On December 22, 2006, Hevesi accepted a plea bargain from Soares. The plea deal called for Hevesi to plead gulity to one count of defrauding the government, based on his personal use of state employees to care for his ailing wife, in lieu of a grand jury indictment.[1]
On January 3, 2007, Soares said he will be opening investigations into wrongdoings in the New York state departments of Education, Health, Motor Vehicles, Labor and Insurance. [2]
Soares has faced some criticism. His purported drug policy reform position has been disputed by at least one defense lawyer, while police and others consider Soares soft on drugs. He also has been criticized for his prosecution of Florida defendants for selling steroids to residents of Albany County. Some feel the criticism is politically motivated.
[edit] Electoral history
2004 Democratic Primary for district attorney
- David Soares, 60.5%
- Paul Clyne, 39.5%
2004 election for district attorney
- David Soares (D), 54.6%
- Roger J. Cusick (R), 41.3%
- Paul Clyne (I), 4.1%
[edit] External links
[edit] Reference
- ^ Jochnowitz, Jay (November 22, 2006). Hevesi’s Ride Ends (HTML). Albany Times Union.
- ^ Karlin, Rick (January 3, 2007). 4 state agencies scrutinized (HTML). Albany Times Union.
| Preceded by Paul Clyne |
Albany County District Attorney 2004 – Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
