Three Spitzer aides charged in NY ethics probe

By Joan Gralla

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A state ethics panel on Thursday said it filed charges against three aides to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer accused of leaking to newspapers information about his top Republican foe's travel on state aircraft.

The scandal, called "Troopergate" because the state police compiled the trip information, derailed Spitzer's bid to reform state government.

Spitzer resigned in March amid a prostitution scandal, but lawmakers say continuing probes into the scandal have become a distraction to them and other officials.

The former Democratic governor, elected after winning a national reputation for uncovering Wall Street's misdeeds, has not been charged in the prostitution case.

The Commission on Public Integrity charged the top aides as well as the former acting superintendent of the state police, who created reports on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's trips to New York City in May and June of 2007.

The charges echo a report by State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Last July he said Spitzer's aides tried to smear Bruno by providing media with information that showed he was using state aircraft for personal business.

Since then, a loophole that had allowed Bruno to travel on the aircraft as long as he did at least some state business has been closed.

The bipartisan commission said Darren Dopp, a former Spitzer spokesman, and Richard Baum and William Howard, former aides, were charged with violating the state's code of ethics.

Preston Felton, the former acting head of the state police, faces a similar charge.

Baum and Howard have admitted they violated the law, the commission said. There are no civil penalties for their offenses.

But Dopp could be fined $10,000 for using his position to obtain an unwarranted privilege -- the use of confidential state information.

Felton faces that charge and a second charge of disclosing confidential information. His fine could be $20,000.

Troopergate has outlasted Spitzer and Bruno, an ex-boxer who pulled few punches in his fights with the former governor. Recently he called him "demented."

Bruno resigned on July 18 after first stepping down as Senate Majority Leader, saying he wanted to move on after 32 years in public service.

(Reporting by Joan Gralla, Editing by Xavier Briand)