An aide to congressional candidate Dr. David Walrath has admitted sending fake letters to the editor critical of incumbent Rep. Sherwood Boehlert to newspapers in the 24th Congressional District, including The Citizen.

Matt Moran said Friday evening he sent letters under the ficticious name Kevin McGuinness, and included his own contact information for newspapers to call to verify the content.

A letter published under that name in the April 1 edition of The Citizen criticized Boehlert and the newspaper's coverage of the campaign.

Moran said he regretted sending the letters, but he also justified it. "You have to try and get media whenever you can," he said. "This is just something that goes on in politics."

Moran accused Boehlert's campaign of doing the same thing, but said he did not have specific examples in front of him when reached Friday night.

"I had no knowledge of this action," Walrath said. "I do not condone that type of tactic, even though I have been the victim of it."

Boehlert denied those charges and fired back at Walrath, a Sennett surgeon who nearly defeated him in a 2002 primary. "That's just the tip of the iceberg," Boehlert said of the fake letters. "The campaign of Walrath is based on lies, fraud and misinformation."

The Observer Dispatch in Utica, near Boehlert's hometown of New Hartford, first discovered it had published a ficticious letter and was planning to report about it in today's edition. Walrath said he has met with Moran since the letter issue came to light, so he has not made a decision about his future with the campaign.