Spitzer's Aides' Statement is being Examined

The Albany County district attorney’s office, which has opened an inquiry into the possibility of perjury by Darren Dopp, a former top aide to Gov. Eliot Spitzer, is examining Mr. Dopp’s sworn statement denying having ordered surveillance of Senator Joseph L. Bruno’s travels, according to a person who has been briefed on the investigation.

The district attorney, P. David Soares, is also examining inconsistencies between statements made by Mr. Dopp and those made by William Howard, the governor’s former liaison to the State Police, the person said.

The discrepancies were referred to Mr. Soares’s office for possible criminal prosecution by the state’s Commission on Public Integrity, which is conducting its own review of efforts by Mr. Spitzer’s aides’ to discredit Mr. Bruno, the Senate majority leader.

The district attorney’s office is known to be considering various criminal charges, including perjury. Referring the case to his office is likely to delay into next year the proceedings of the commission, which enforces the state ethics law. That delay would be a political blow to Mr. Spitzer, who had hoped to put the investigations of his administration behind him by the start of his second year in office.