B'klyn ACORN cleared over giving illegal advice

The Brooklyn district attorney's office says it has found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of three ACORN employees caught on video advising a couple posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend.

The office said yesterday that its five-month inquiry is over and it will file no charges.

The hidden-camera videos were made by conservative activists Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe, who went to ACORN offices in Brooklyn, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., California and elsewhere, attempting to portray the organization negatively.

Since then, O'Keefe has been arrested after visiting Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in New Orleans. He denies trying to tamper with the Democrat's phones.

The Brooklyn video O'Keefe released showed ACORN workers apparently advising the pair to bolster their housing application by lying about Giles' profession and laundering her earnings. But an unedited version left more room for doubt. - AP