Albany DA's star seen on the rise



BY JOE MAHONEY in Albany and CELESTE KATZ in New York
New York DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Albany County District Attorney David Soares called Alan Hevesi's guilty plea "a tragic end to what was once a distinguished career."
But Soares wanted to make one thing clear: "It matters not...who you know, what you know and what your socioeconomic bracket is. We are going to treat everyone with the same standard of justice."

It may be a message that will take him further than the Albany County Judicial Building.

"Bound for glory, this guy," predicts veteran Albany criminal defense lawyer Terence Kindlon. "He came from nowhere, overran the local political establishment and got himself elected district attorney - much to the surprise of many of the old pros in town."

Soares, 37, the youngest of five, was born on Cape Verde, off the African coast. His family moved to the U.S. when he was 6 and settled in Rhode Island, where his father was a carpenter and his mom worked at a mill. After working his way through Cornell University and Albany Law, he became an assistant district attorney.

In 2004, Soares toppled incumbent Albany District Attorney Paul Clyne in a shocking Democratic primary upset.

"He is, politically, as smooth as silk.... And he's got terrific integrity," said Kindlon, whose wife and law partner, Laurie Shanks, taught Soares at Albany Law. "He's got great instincts. He's a hardworking guy."

Not that Soares has never rankled anyone: Albany law enforcement officials assailed him earlier this year for saying American legislators, prosecutors and judges know the U.S. war on drugs is a failure, but still back it because it "provides law enforcement officials with lucrative jobs."

He later apologized.