Charles J. Hynes
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Charles J. "Joe" Hynes is the current District Attorney of Kings County, New York. In his childhood, he attended St. Ann's Academy in New York City (now Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood, Queens). Hynes received his JD from St. John's University in Jamaica, Queens.
Now in his fifth term, Hynes was first elected to office in 1989. After working for the Legal Aid Society, he joined the Kings County District Attorney's office in 1969, where he served as an Assistant District Attorney. Two years later he was appointed as Chief of the Rackets Bureau, subsequent to which he was appointed as First Assistant District Attorney.
In 1975, then New York Governor Hugh Carey and Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz appointed Hynes as Special State Prosecutor to investigate nursing home fraud. 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, and the following year Hynes was elected the first president of the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units. [1] Now, 48 states have Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Hynes was appointed the 24th Fire Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Edward I. Koch on November 5, 1980 upon the resignation of Fire Commissioner Augustus A. Beekman, and served in that position until his resignation on October 22, 1982.
Returning to public service several years later, his 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. [2]
Hynes managed to secure three homicide convictions against the defendants, who would subsequently be sentenced to prison terms of varying lengths.
Controversy arose when Sandra Roper, who had previously run against Hynes in 2001, was brought up on felony theft 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]
In 2005 he defeated primary challenges from several other opponents, including State Senator John L. Sampson.
Hynes’ innovative programs have put him on the cutting edge of law-enforcement in America and made him the subject of numerous national and international media spotlights.
He 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. [3]
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 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.[4]
One of the most high-profile cases pursued by DA 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, DA 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]
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| Preceded by Augustus A. Beekman |
FDNY Commissioner 1980-1982 |
Succeeded by Joseph E. Spinnato |
| Preceded by Elizabeth Holtzman |
District Attorney - Kings County, New York 1990 – present |
Incumbent |
