ALBANY – Defending his record on fighting Medicaid fraud, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer yesterday accused his Democratic rival, Thomas Suozzi, and other critics of distorting his record for political gain.

Mr. Suozzi, the Nassau County executive who is running as an underdog in the governor’s race, came to the Capitol building yesterday to make the case that Mr. Spitzer has allowed the problem of Medicaid fraud to fester for years. As a result, Mr. Suozzi argued, New Yorkers end up paying higher property taxes.

The county executive has made the issue of Medicaid fraud, which he connects to the health of the economy and public education, his central line of attack against Mr. Spitzer. In response, the attorney general, who has tended to ignore his political opposition, is lashing out.

“We have led the nation in recoveries, and we will not allow our record to be distorted for partisan or political purposes,” a spokesman for Mr. Spitzer’s office, Paul Larrabee, said.

His office yesterday noted that federal auditors in a report issued last week concluded that Mr. Spitzer’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit was “in compliance with all rules and regulations” and that its “funds were expended in an effective and efficient manner.”

Speaking to reporters one floor below Mr. Spitzer’s headquarters, Mr. Suozzi dismissed the significance of the federal government’s assessment. “I don’t think a report saying you complied with the rules that were established by the same people who responded to Hurricane Katrina is anything to boast about,” he said.

He added: “The reality is that the attorney general, as well as the Health Department, as well as the entire state of New York has failed to do a good job in going after Medicaid fraud.” He cited a figure that appeared in a New York Times article from last year – that at least 10% of Medicaid spending is consumed by fraud.

Mr. Suozzi said his campaign would unveil a broader plan to fix the entitlement program this weekend. Albany lawmakers and the governor are debating a proposal to create a Medicaid inspector general to oversee investigations into fraud, waste, and abuse.

Mr. Spitzer said his office would be able to recover more money if the state passed a False Claims Act, which would allow whistleblowers to file a lawsuit on behalf of the state and receive a share of recoveries, and the “Martin Act for Health Care,” which would, among other things, permit the office to conduct examinations of Medicaid providers under oath.

Mr. Larrabee said the attorney general’s office recovered $163 million in fiscal year 2005, a figure that excludes money from cases in which multiple states and the federal government conducted joint investigations.

Recoveries made by Dennis Vacco, who preceded Mr. Spitzer as attorney general, were much lower. In fiscal year 1998, the final year of Mr.Vacco’s term, his office recovered $10.6 million, Mr. Larrabee said.

Money that is recovered goes to the state’s general fund.