Charles J. Hynes
Encyclopedia
Charles Joseph Hynes is the current district attorney
of Kings County, New York
(Brooklyn). A Democrat
, Hynes was first elected to office in 1989 and is currently serving a fifth term.
(now Archbishop Molloy High School
) in Briarwood, Queens
, and received both his bachelor's degree, in 1957, and his J.D.
in 1961 from St. John's University
in Jamaica, Queens
.
From 1963 Hynes worked for the Legal Aid Society
as an associate attorney before joining the Kings County District Attorney's Office as an Assistant District Attorney in 1969. In 1971, Hynes was appointed as Chief of the Rackets Bureau and was named First Assistant District Attorney in 1973.
In 1975, Governor
Hugh Carey
and Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz
appointed Hynes as special state prosecutor
for Nursing Homes, Health and Social Services, in response to a massive scandal in the state’s nursing home industry. Hynes' office launched a comprehensive attack on Medicaid fraud, and his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit eventually became a national model, cited in a report of the House Select Committee on Aging as the best in the country. [NY Times 27 March 1982: A9] Hynes testified before Congress in 1976 in favor of legislation establishing state fraud control units and providing federal funding. The legislation became law in 1977. Now, 48 states have Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Hynes was appointed the 24th New York City Fire Commissioner by Mayor Edward I. Koch
on November 5, 1980 upon the resignation of Augustus A. Beekman
. Hynes served in that position until his resignation on October 22, 1982. He served as a Commissioner for the New York State Commission of Investigation between 1983 and 1985 by appointment of New York State Assembly Speaker Stanley Fink. In 1985, Governor Mario Cuomo appointed District Attorney Hynes Special State Prosecutor for the New York City Criminal Justice System.
Hynes′ first major achievement as a head prosecutor would occur in 1987 when he was tasked with investigating the death of Michael Griffith
, an African-American teenager who was set upon by a mob of white teens in Howard Beach, Queens
. Hynes managed to secure three homicide
conviction
s against the defendants, who would subsequently be sentenced to prison terms of varying lengths. He later published a book about the case.
In October, 1990, Hynes initiated the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program (DTAP) on the premise that drug-addicted defendants would return to society in a better position to resist drugs and crime after treatment than if they had spent a comparable time in prison at nearly twice the cost. DTAP is available for nonviolent predicate felons with a history of drug addiction and has been held up as a model for similar prosecution based drug treatment programs across the country.
Hynes is credited with establishing one of the most comprehensive-and first-countywide programs designed specifically to address domestic abuse as a criminal issue, and with the collaboration of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani implemented a citywide program to monitor convicted domestic violence offenders.
In 2005, in partnership with New York City and the state court system, he opened the first Family Justice Center in New York State, an all-in-one facility where domestic violence victims can meet with prosecutors, counselors, civil attorneys and clergy members, and get help changing their locks, finding new housing, handling custody issues and a wide range of related problems, all in their native languages. [NY Daily News 21 July 2005:2]
In 2005 Hynes defeated primary challenges from several other opponents, including State Senator
John L. Sampson
.
One of the most high-profile cases pursued by Hynes to date has been his prosecution of former assemblyman and Kings County Democratic Party chief Clarence Norman Jr.
After trial under four separate indictments, Norman was acquitted once and convicted three times on felony charges, including grand larceny and extortion. [Newsday 6 June 2007:A02]
In addition to Norman, Hynes has successfully prosecuted two judges of taking bribes. Former Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Victor Barron was sentenced to three to nine years in prison for soliciting a bribe, and former Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gerald Garson was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for accepting gifts and money from an attorney, in exchange for favorable treatment in Garson’s courtroom. [NY Post 6 June 2007:11]
Hynes is married to Patricia L. Pennisi, a registered nurse. The couple has five children and sixteen grandchildren.
charges by a special prosecutor. Hynes’ office had received a complaint that Roper stole about $9,000 from a client and then lied about it to the state grievance committee. Hynes immediately recused himself from the case, and Maranda Fritz was appointed as special prosecutor. After a mistrial in 2004 due to a hung jury, the case was eventually dismissed in 2005 after Roper repaid the former client about $9,000. Roper then sued Hynes for allegedly acting improperly with regard to the criminal case against her. However, in 2006, a federal judge threw out the suit and ruled that Roper’s allegation was unsubstantiated. [NY Times 1 March 2005:B3; NY Sun 29 Sept.2006:3]
Hynes’ competence or political will in pursuing allegations of wrongdoing involving prominent institutions and individuals in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community
is reportedly questioned by sexual abuse survivors and their advocates. They charge that Hynes fears political retaliation from the powerful rabbinic leaders and their bloc-voting Orthodox voters. Hynes denies this. Among the controversial high profile cases arosing these questions was the 2008 case of rabbi
Yehuda Kolko, a Brooklyn yeshiva
teacher charged with sexual molestation in 2006, but later entering a plea bargain agreement for a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child. Kolko was sentenced to three years probation and counseling.
On November 11, 2011, the Jewish Daily Forward reported that Hynes claims to have arrested 89 men on child sex-abuse charges in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn since 2009 but declined to provide any details.
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
of Kings County, New York
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
(Brooklyn). A Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Hynes was first elected to office in 1989 and is currently serving a fifth term.
Life and career
Hynes was born and raised in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. He attended St. Ann's AcademyArchbishop Molloy High School
Archbishop Molloy High School is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9-12, located on in the Briarwood section of Queens in New York City, thirty minutes east of Manhattan. Molloy currently has an endowment of about $6,000,000 . The school's current principal is Br...
(now Archbishop Molloy High School
Archbishop Molloy High School
Archbishop Molloy High School is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9-12, located on in the Briarwood section of Queens in New York City, thirty minutes east of Manhattan. Molloy currently has an endowment of about $6,000,000 . The school's current principal is Br...
) in Briarwood, Queens
Briarwood, Queens
Briarwood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located northwest of Jamaica and roughly bounded by Queens Boulevard, Parsons Boulevard, Union Turnpike, and Hillside Avenue. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 8. It is serviced by the IND Queens Boulevard...
, and received both his bachelor's degree, in 1957, and his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1961 from St. John's University
St. John's University (New York City)
St. John's University is a private, Roman Catholic, coeducational university located in New York City, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1870, the school was originally located in the borough of Brooklyn in the neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant...
in Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
.
From 1963 Hynes worked for the Legal Aid Society
Legal Aid Society
The Legal Aid Society in New York City is the United States' oldest and largest provider of legal services to the indigent. It operates both traditional civil and criminal law cases.-History:...
as an associate attorney before joining the Kings County District Attorney's Office as an Assistant District Attorney in 1969. In 1971, Hynes was appointed as Chief of the Rackets Bureau and was named First Assistant District Attorney in 1973.
In 1975, Governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Hugh Carey
Hugh Carey
Hugh Leo Carey was an American attorney, the 51st Governor of New York from 1975 to 1982, and a seven-term United States Representative .- Early life :...
and Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz
Louis Lefkowitz
Louis J. Lefkowitz was an American lawyer and politician.-Life:...
appointed Hynes as special state prosecutor
Special prosecutor
A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...
for Nursing Homes, Health and Social Services, in response to a massive scandal in the state’s nursing home industry. Hynes' office launched a comprehensive attack on Medicaid fraud, and his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit eventually became a national model, cited in a report of the House Select Committee on Aging as the best in the country. [NY Times 27 March 1982: A9] Hynes testified before Congress in 1976 in favor of legislation establishing state fraud control units and providing federal funding. The legislation became law in 1977. Now, 48 states have Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Hynes was appointed the 24th New York City Fire Commissioner by Mayor Edward I. Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
on November 5, 1980 upon the resignation of Augustus A. Beekman
Augustus A. Beekman
Augustus Anthony Beekman was the 23rd New York City Fire Commissioner.-Biography:He was born on March 28, 1923 at Harlem Hospital in New York City and grew up in the Catholic-Church-run orphanage, Little Flower Home, in Wading River, New York. and was appointed the 23rd Fire Commissioner of the...
. Hynes served in that position until his resignation on October 22, 1982. He served as a Commissioner for the New York State Commission of Investigation between 1983 and 1985 by appointment of New York State Assembly Speaker Stanley Fink. In 1985, Governor Mario Cuomo appointed District Attorney Hynes Special State Prosecutor for the New York City Criminal Justice System.
Hynes′ first major achievement as a head prosecutor would occur in 1987 when he was tasked with investigating the death of Michael Griffith
Michael Griffith
Michael Griffith was a 23-year old man who was born in Trinidad and who lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, who was killed after being hit by a car in Howard Beach, Queens, New York, on December 20, 1986. Griffith was chased onto a highway by a mob of white youths who had beaten him and his...
, an African-American teenager who was set upon by a mob of white teens in Howard Beach, Queens
Howard Beach, Queens
Howard Beach is a suburban neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered in the north by the Belt Parkway and South Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, the east by 102nd-104th streets, and the west by 78th...
. Hynes managed to secure three homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
conviction
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
s against the defendants, who would subsequently be sentenced to prison terms of varying lengths. He later published a book about the case.
In October, 1990, Hynes initiated the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program (DTAP) on the premise that drug-addicted defendants would return to society in a better position to resist drugs and crime after treatment than if they had spent a comparable time in prison at nearly twice the cost. DTAP is available for nonviolent predicate felons with a history of drug addiction and has been held up as a model for similar prosecution based drug treatment programs across the country.
Hynes is credited with establishing one of the most comprehensive-and first-countywide programs designed specifically to address domestic abuse as a criminal issue, and with the collaboration of former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani implemented a citywide program to monitor convicted domestic violence offenders.
In 2005, in partnership with New York City and the state court system, he opened the first Family Justice Center in New York State, an all-in-one facility where domestic violence victims can meet with prosecutors, counselors, civil attorneys and clergy members, and get help changing their locks, finding new housing, handling custody issues and a wide range of related problems, all in their native languages. [NY Daily News 21 July 2005:2]
In 2005 Hynes defeated primary challenges from several other opponents, including State Senator
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
John L. Sampson
John L. Sampson
John L. Sampson represents District 19 in the New York State Senate, which comprises Crown Heights, East Flatbush, as well as portions of Brownsville, Canarsie and Spring Creek Towers....
.
One of the most high-profile cases pursued by Hynes to date has been his prosecution of former assemblyman and Kings County Democratic Party chief Clarence Norman Jr.
Clarence Norman Jr.
Clarence Norman, Jr. is an American politician from the state of New York. He was the former chairman of the Kings County Democratic Party and member of the New York State Assembly from the 43rd Assembly District in Central Brooklyn, which includes Crown Heights and parts of Flatbush and Prospect...
After trial under four separate indictments, Norman was acquitted once and convicted three times on felony charges, including grand larceny and extortion. [Newsday 6 June 2007:A02]
In addition to Norman, Hynes has successfully prosecuted two judges of taking bribes. Former Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Victor Barron was sentenced to three to nine years in prison for soliciting a bribe, and former Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gerald Garson was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for accepting gifts and money from an attorney, in exchange for favorable treatment in Garson’s courtroom. [NY Post 6 June 2007:11]
Hynes is married to Patricia L. Pennisi, a registered nurse. The couple has five children and sixteen grandchildren.
Controversies
Controversy arose when Sandra Roper, who had previously run against Hynes in 2001, was brought up on felony theftTheft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
charges by a special prosecutor. Hynes’ office had received a complaint that Roper stole about $9,000 from a client and then lied about it to the state grievance committee. Hynes immediately recused himself from the case, and Maranda Fritz was appointed as special prosecutor. After a mistrial in 2004 due to a hung jury, the case was eventually dismissed in 2005 after Roper repaid the former client about $9,000. Roper then sued Hynes for allegedly acting improperly with regard to the criminal case against her. However, in 2006, a federal judge threw out the suit and ruled that Roper’s allegation was unsubstantiated. [NY Times 1 March 2005:B3; NY Sun 29 Sept.2006:3]
Hynes’ competence or political will in pursuing allegations of wrongdoing involving prominent institutions and individuals in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
is reportedly questioned by sexual abuse survivors and their advocates. They charge that Hynes fears political retaliation from the powerful rabbinic leaders and their bloc-voting Orthodox voters. Hynes denies this. Among the controversial high profile cases arosing these questions was the 2008 case of rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Yehuda Kolko, a Brooklyn yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
teacher charged with sexual molestation in 2006, but later entering a plea bargain agreement for a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child. Kolko was sentenced to three years probation and counseling.
On November 11, 2011, the Jewish Daily Forward reported that Hynes claims to have arrested 89 men on child sex-abuse charges in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn since 2009 but declined to provide any details.