Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos is arraigned on a DUI charge in Addison County Superior criminal court in Middlebury on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Credit: Glenn Russell Updated 6:19 p.m. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office will begin handling a host of high-profile cases usually assigned to embattled Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos, according to a Tuesday letter from the office obtained by VTDigger.  The letter, signed by Domenica Padula, chief of the Attorney General’s Office’s criminal division, specifies the intention of Attorney General Charity Clark to increase and expand “the office’s involvement in investigations and prosecutions that involve the most vulnerable of victims.”  Attorney General Charity Clark decided her office would send the letter after she met with Vekos and personally asked her to resign, said Amelia Vath, a spokesperson for Clark’s office. During their conversation, Vekos “did not indicate” she would resign, Vath said.  In an email to VTDigger, Vekos wrote, “I appreciate the Attorney General’s willingness to pitch in. Justice benefits when we all work together.”  Vekos’s ability to prosecute cases involving vulnerable victims has been called into question for months. Now, Vekos is fighting against an effort to have her law license suspended. Last week, a state panel that investigates attorney misconduct sought to immediately suspend her license to practice law in Vermont — a move that Vekos has fiercely fought back against.  Vekos is scheduled to appear before the Vermont Supreme Court Thursday. Justices will consider the Professional Responsibility Board’s push to suspend her law license. Late last year, Republican Gov. Phil Scott called on Vekos to resign, as did the leaders of both the Vermont Democratic and Progressive parties. The calls for her resignation came after a VTDigger investigation revealed that Vekos faced multiple ethics complaints alleging she mistreated crime victims. An internal investigation completed last month echoed many of those allegations, according to Vermont Public.  Vekos previously stood by the work in her office, saying it’s impossible for any prosecutor to fulfill the wishes of every crime victim. Starting Tuesday, the letter said, Clark’s office would begin taking on new high-profile investigations rather than letting Vekos handle them. Vekos will continue handling cases assigned to her office before Tuesday.  Clark’s office is specifically set to investigate and prosecute all Addison County homicide, sexual assault or child abuse cases. Her office will also handle all death notifications and reviews in the county, according to the letter.  The notice from Clark’s office was sent to a handful of leaders in the Vermont State Police, local law enforcement, an Addison County special investigations unit and a Middlebury organization that supports survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. Although this is the first time Clark’s office has stepped in to handle a large swath of cases usually under Vekos’s jurisdiction, state police detectives have redirected cases to the Attorney General’s Office instead of Vekos’s office for more than two years. Vekos was convicted of drunken driving in December after she appeared intoxicated at the scene of a suspicious death investigation in Bridport in January 2024.  Because Vermont State Police detectives based in the New Haven barracks were involved with Vekos’s arrest, they have since sent all cases they investigate to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office for prosecution to avoid a conflict of interest, a Vermont State Police major told VTDigger in October.  Tim Lueders-Dumont, executive director of the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, said he was “very happy” to read the letter and see the Attorney General’s Office take the lead on representing certain cases.  “It’s in the best interest of Addison County for her to no longer serve,” Lueders-Dumont said of Vekos.  While Vekos remains in office, it’s important for law enforcement to know cases will be prosecuted and that they can send cases to the attorney general, he said. Read the story on VTDigger here: Attorney general begins taking new high-profile cases from embattled State’s Attorney Vekos. ...read more read less