Spitzer Is Poised To Return Dopp to Public Payroll

Governor Spitzer is poised to put his communications director, Darren Dopp, back on the public payroll, 34 days after Mr. Spitzer suspended him without pay for his role in the state police scandal, sources said.

Because the suspension of Mr. Dopp, a longtime aide to Mr. Spitzer, is expected to continue, the resumption of his pay suggests that the Spitzer administration, rather than firing him, intends to transfer him out of the executive chamber to another state agency.

The move would likely infuriate Senate Republicans, who have seized on the scandal as evidence of what they view as the governor's abuse of power and have accused the administration of trying to cover tracks by not fully cooperating with investigators.

"That's a disgrace," a Republican senator of Brooklyn, Martin Golden, said of the governor's expected action. "What message is he sending to the people of New York after Troopergate? It's just unbelievable that he would even think about paying Dopp again. People did wrong. People have to be terminated for this."

A spokeswoman for the governor, Christine Anderson, said the office has not made a final decision on Mr. Dopp's pay. As the governor's top press aide, Mr. Dopp earned an annual salary of $175,000. The 34 days of suspension without pay cost him about $16,000 before taxes.

Mr. Dopp was one of three who were faulted in a July 23 report by Attorney General Cuomo's office that found that the Spitzer administration improperly directed the state police to track Mr. Bruno's schedule and requests for security escorts in an effort to catch the Senate leader misusing state resources.

The report said Mr. Dopp directed the administration's liaison to the state police, William Howard, to collect Mr. Bruno's private schedules from the acting police superintendent, Preston Felton. The report said Mr. Dopp leaked the records to the Times Union of Albany in the hope of generating a negative story about Mr. Bruno's use of state aircraft.

It also accuses him of making misleading statements to the press after the article was published in early July by insisting that the administration had simply responded to a Freedom of Information Law request from the Albany newspaper. In truth, the report said, Mr. Dopp had requested Mr. Bruno's travel records weeks before the newspaper submitted a FOIL request.

The report also faulted Messrs. Howard and Felton for taking part in the scheme against Mr. Bruno, whose use of state aircraft was deemed by the attorney general's office to be proper.

Mr. Howard was transferred to a state homeland security office outside the executive chamber. He was not suspended and his pay was not docked, though he receives a lower salary in his new job. Mr. Spitzer did not take any disciplinary action against Mr. Felton.

Refusing a request from Mr. Cuomo's office, Mr. Dopp, along with Mr. Spitzer's chief of staff, Richard Baum, refused to testify before state investigators, prompting criticism from Senate Republicans who allege that Mr. Spitzer's office may have concealed the possible involvement of other administrators, including that of the governor.