Virginia GOP Big Quits Amid Scandal

The executive director of Virginia's Republican Party was indicted Tuesday on charges of illegally intercepting telephone conference calls involving Gov. Mark Warner and other Democrats.

Two of the indictments charged Edmund A. Matricardi III, 33, with illegal wire interception, and two others allege he tried to use the contents of the call. He was released without bail, barred from leaving Virginia, then fingerprinted and photographed.

He also resigned Tuesday as the state's top Republican Party staffer, said state GOP Chairman Gary Thomson.

In an initial court appearance, Matricardi stood stoically before Richmond Circuit Judge R.W. Duling, his lips pressed together tightly as the four indictments were read.

The calls on March 22 and March 25 involved Warner, top legislative Democrats and their aides and lawyers, said Randall G. Johnson Jr., an assistant commonwealth's attorney. They were discussing strategy for a court battle over last year's legislative redistricting plan.

Steven Benjamin, Matricardi's attorney, asked Duling to dismiss the charges outright during Tuesday's hearing, contending no crime had occurred under Virginia law.

"It is not a crime to use the telephone to listen to a conversation or to record it. The law is settled in Virginia. That leaves the question: why indict? Why indict Ed Matricardi," Benjamin said at a news conference.

Matricardi, a tireless tormentor of Democrats since he became the GOP's top staff operative three years ago, could face up to five years in prison if convicted on each of the four counts. Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney David Hicks is a Democrat.

"I can't imagine that this commonwealth's attorney would indict for political purposes, but on the other hand this indictment is not based on the law. If this indictment is for political purposes, then that's just plain wrong," said Benjamin.

"Politics is played rough in this state, but this is like bringing a gun to a football game. It's wrong to involve the criminal justice system for a political end," he said.

Duling scheduled an April 19 hearing on Benjamin's dismissal motion.

Johnson said the motion is based on an incomplete reading of the law.

"The bottom line is that's Mr. Matricardi's view of the law, and we beg to disagree," Johnson said.

Prosecutors said that Matricardi, himself a lawyer, obtained the telephone number and pass codes to join the teleconference, listened to and recorded the call and later transcribed it into notes.

"He did so without the knowledge or consent of any party participant to the call," Johnson said.

The second indictment alleges that Matricardi disseminated the notes he took to third parties. The third indictment says he used the contents of the first phone call, but does not elaborate on how he used it. The fourth indictment charges that Matricardi listened in on a follow-up Democratic teleconference three days later after learning of it from the first call.

Johnson refused to say who gave Matricardi the access information or who received notes from Matricardi, but he said that the investigation continues and that others could be charged.

Thomson said Matricardi sent him a letter of resignation Tuesday that was immediately effective. Matricardi had stayed away from the state GOP headquarters but remained on the party payroll until Tuesday, and GOP leaders had been reluctant to criticize him.

"It's been very clear from the beginning that I've wanted to wait for all the facts to be made known to me. This episode should not have happened and the question is will it happen in the future, and the answer is clearly no," Thomson said.

"I have made it very clear to the staff of the RPV that they are not to be on any phone calls where they are not only requested to be on the call but openly acknowledge on the call that they are a participant," he said.

Warner would not comment because it is a pending criminal case, said his press secretary, Ellen Qualls. Other Democrats, however, were not so reticent.

The case transcends legal issues, said Betty Jolly, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

"... We have an additional concern and that's the ethical one," she said. "We're still waiting for the Republican leadership ... to condemn this action. Mr. Matricardi did this for his employers, and his employers haven't condemned it."

A statement from the Legislature's Joint Democratic Caucus said the indictments "underscore the seriousness of the charges."

"We also will continue to evaluate the impact of the case on the redistricting process, the legality of the 2001 redistricting plan and the legal and civil rights of our members, our constituents and all the citizens of Virginia," the four-paragraph release said.

The politically explosive case arose from a March 11 ruling by Salem Circuit Judge Richard C. Pattisall that the GOP-authored redistricting plan is racially gerrymandered and unconstitutional.

Republicans, led by state Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore, want the state Supreme Court to reverse the ruling, while Democrats want it upheld, forcing new elections soon in redrawn legislative districts. Republicans won 64 of the 100 House of Delegates seats last fall in the first elections after redistricting.

It was Kilgore, however, who alerted the State Police that Matricardi may have improperly monitored the Democrats' call.