Mark Suben, the Cortland County district attorney, said today he acted in pornographic movies in the 1970s.

In a 3 p.m. news conference today, he admitted that he lied about his history to The Post-Standard and other news operations in the days before the Nov. 6 election. He was re-elected to a second term.

He said he would continue as district attorney. After he was done, he walked out without responding to reporters' questions.

Suben is a Democrat. He defeated Republican defense attorney Keith Dayton 9,815-7,507, according to unofficial results.

Speaking from a conference room in his private-practice law office, he read a statement and said he would take no questions. His wife was in the room.

He talked about his time handling the criminal cases of youths "because it has been my experience that they can become productive members of the community."

He continued:

"I know this firsthand. I used bad judgment myself in my youth. Recently, materials have been circulated alleging (indicating) that I was an actor in the adult film industry years ago in New York.

"Those allegations are true. I was an actor in adult films in the early 1970s. I also acted in other venues, off-Broadway, soap operas.

"A few weeks ago, when asked, I denied this to members of the press. I regret that and I apologize. I was shocked to be confronted by this so many years later.

"I was embarrassed for my family and friends who have stood by me. I also denied my actions to my family, my friends and my staff. After that brief period of my life, I found my calling in the law, particularly in prosecution, and have dedicated my life and my career to doing what I've been elected to do - protecting my home community.

"I will continue to do that. I cannot defend my bad judgment, both my involvement years ago and my denial of it recently."

The issue got forced when someone posted a YouTube video that claimed to reveal Suben's history, saying that he appeared in porn movies under another name. WSTM, Channel 3, posted to its website today a story based on the video.

Suben was raised in Cortland and graduated from Cortland High School. He has grown sons.

Suben has been acting City Court Judge, City Corporation Counsel and a Cortland County Attorney. He is past president of the Cortland County Bar Association and belongs to the Elks Lodge, Cortland County Farm Bureau and is a snare drummer in the Old Timers Band.

Suben was raised in Cortland and graduated from Cortland High School. He graduated from the University of Rochester, the University of Wisconsin and Fordham Law School, according to the biography on his election web site.

He said he worked 7 years in Wall Street law firms before he became a prosecutor. He worked 7 years as an assistant district attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, then as a senior assistant district attorney in the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office.

After he left Onondaga County, he spent 13 years in his own practice. He was first elected Cortland County District Attorney in 2008.

For 17 years, he has taught criminal trial practice as an adjunct professor at the Syracuse University Law School.

The Subens bought a house in Skaneateles in 1985 and traveled there from New York City on weekends. They moved to Skaneateles in 1992, his wife Susan Suben said in a 1999 story in The Post-Standard.

"We just wanted to get the heck out of New York City," she said at the time.

Susan Suben and a friend started the Helping Hands project in 1994, which uses donations to provide the Skaneateles Central School District with money for sports equipment, music rentals, eyeglasses and other items for students.

Staff writer Michelle Breidenbach contributed to this report. Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 470-2187.



Related stories:

» Cortland County DA's opponent: It's not the porn, it's the lying

» Is Cortland DA Mark Suben the porn actor Gus Thomas? A YouTube tipster makes the case

