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Brooklyn DA Fires A Slew Of Hynes Holdovers
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 8, 2014
Modified Jun 8, 2014
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Cecilia D'Anastasio / Gothamist
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 8, 2014
Modified Jun 8, 2014
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Almost a week after a DOI report concluded that disgraced Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes used money seized in criminal investigations to fund his failed reelection campaigns, Hynes' successor has fired nine of his attorneys and two staffers.
According to the Daily News, those attorneys include James Leeper, a Hynes holdover who disappeared from a murder trial allegedly because of his alcoholism, a welfare fraud prosecutor, and an attorney who worked under Michael Vecchione, the former rackets bureau chief who was excoriated by a federal judge for his role in a wrongful murder conviction.
When we spoke to a former ADA last fall at Hynes campaign event, the attorney mused that "half of this office should go, really."
In fact, many of Hynes' employees left before Ken Thompson took office. Thompson denied that the firings had anything to do with the DOI report.
Thompson's office continues to review nearly 100 convictions made by Hynes' office that have the potential to be overturned, many of which were aided by former Detective Louis Scarcella, who used prostitutes to ply would-be witnesses and obtained confessions that all contain similar wording.
Tagged
brooklyn da
charles hynes
ken thompson
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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