Albany County District Attorney David Soares testified before county lawmakers Wednesday night in response to criticism over the $22,000 bonus he gave to himself using state grant funds.

Soares said County Comptroller Susan Rizzo had not contacted him for more than seven weeks after his office distributed money from the Aid to Prosecution Grant.

Soares said he is going to return the money in order to put the focus back on public safety.

In his testimony Wednesday night, Soares claimed Rizzo notified multiple state agencies in order to “assassinate” his character.

One of the main points brought up at the meeting was Soares’ salary is tied to the annual pay for the county court judges. Legislators pushed him to admit that the bonus from the grant would raise his salary – something that can only be done by the legislature.