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	Court Cost Raises an Objection Amount Billed by Special Prosecutor in Aretakis Case Is Questioned By Kate Perry Albany Times Union October 11, 2006 http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=524543&category=REGION&newsdate=10/11/2006 Troy -- County Attorney Robert Smith simply can't believe it took a special prosecutor 120 hours -- five straight days or three workweeks -- to prosecute a misdemeanor case against John Aretakis. The county received a $12,750 bill in August for work attorney Timothy Nugent did between October 2005 and July. And Smith promptly sent a letter to Acting Supreme Court Justice Christian Hummel, who appointed Nugent to the case and set the approximately $100 an hour rate. Smith called it "inexplicable" that it took 120 hours of work to prosecute a violation-level harassment and misdemeanor petit larceny. "The amount of time claimed is the rough equivalent of three full weeks of work by an assistant district attorney and the compensation presumably sought is at least 20 percent of that assistant's annual salary," Smith said in the letter. "All for a case which resulted in an acquittal on both counts." Hummel responded with a court order awarding Nugent the money; Tuesday night, the County Legislature approved the payment. Nugent could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Legislator Richard Salisbury, the legislature's vice chairman for finance, said the fee was "absolutely excessive," but that the legislature was obligated to pay it by Hummel's court order. "I just don't understand how the judge came up with that kind of (rate)," Salisbury said. "I voted for it because I had to." Smith said the county objected more to the number of hours billed by Nugent than the hourly rate set by Hummel. According to a schedule of services and time expended provided by Nugent, more than half the days he worked on the case he put in two hours or less. But there were five days he logged more than 10 hours, reaching as high as 16 hours one day. Smith said the average cost of a special prosecutor is around $2,000. The case stemmed from a September 2005 incident in which Aretakis allegedly drove his car at process server Robert Wells and stole his briefcase. Aretakis argued the case on his own behalf and was acquitted of both charges in June. Aretakis represents victims of clergy sexual abuse and was fighting a court order to stay 100 feet from the entrances of Holy Cross Church in Albany, where he and other protesters wanted the pastor removed. Wells was served a restraining order issued by a state judge regarding the protests when the altercation occurred near Aretakis' North Greenbush home. Nugent was appointed as special prosecutor because Rensselaer County District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis wanted to avoid the appearance of impropriety, said DeAngelis spokesman Eric Wohlleber. Aretakis had been critical of DeAngelis in the past, Wohlleber said. He added that DeAngelis and Aretakis' wife, Nia Cholakis, both ran on the Republican line in 2003 for district attorney and County Court judge respectively. Kate Perry can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at kperry@timesunion.com.
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