Political Snooping Alleged in Virginia:Police Investigate A Top GOP Official In Eavesdropping

RICHMOND, March 28 -- State and local police are conducting a criminal investigation into whether the Virginia Republican Party's executive director violated state law when he listened in on a telephone conference of Democratic leaders discussing legal strategy for a politically sensitive redistricting case, officials said today.

Edmund A. Matricardi III, the state GOP's senior staffer for the past three years, is the subject of a joint investigation by the Richmond commonwealth's attorney and Virginia State Police, according to law enforcement sources, GOP leaders and officials in the administration of Gov. Mark R. Warner (D).