| Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| District Attorney of Richmond County | |
| In office January 1, 2004 – present |
|
| Preceded by | William L. Murphy |
| Constituency | Richmond County, New York |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 6, 1956 Staten Island, New York |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Fordham University School of Law |
| Profession | Attorney |
Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. (born November 6, 1956) is an attorney and elected official from New York City. He currently serves as the district attorney for Richmond County, New York (Staten Island).
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Dan Donovan was born into a working-class Roman Catholic family in Staten Island, New York in 1956. His Irish-American father, Daniel M. Donovan, Sr. was a longshoreman and his Polish-American mother, Katherine Bolewicz Donovan was a garment worker.[1][2] He was raised in the Tompkinsville section of the borough.[3] He attended Monsignor Farrell High School, an all boys Catholic school, graduating in 1974.[4] He went to study Criminal Justice at St. John's University.[5] After graduating from there he attended Fordham University School of Law, earning his juris doctor in 1988.[6]
In 1989 Dan Donovan became an Assistant District Attorney in the office of Robert M. Morgenthau.[7] He served in with the office of the New York County District Attorney under Mr. Morgenthau until 1996. Later that year Donovan became Chief of Staff to then Staten Island Borough President Guy V. Molinari.[8] He remained in that position until 2002 when he was sworn in as Deputy Borough President of Staten Island; he had been appointed by his immediate predecessor and the then new Borough President James Molinaro.[9]
In 2003, twenty year incumbent Democrat, William L. Murphy decided not to seek re-election. Dan Donovan announced his intention to run to succeed him. In the election he faced Chief Assistant District Attorney David Lehr and won with over 53% of the vote.[10] One of the key parts of his platform was to start the county's first witness protection program, and his office led the city's prosecutors with the highest felony conviction rate in many of the years since he took office.[11] He was re-elected in 2007 with over 68% of the vote, defeating local Democratic attorney Michael Ryan.[12] This was in spite of a last minute endorsement for his rival by longtime friend and mentor Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro; Molinaro was angered that Donovan had referred his grandson's case to a special prosecutor.[13] Donovan's tenure as DA has seen several high profile cases including the second conviction of Andre Rand, long suspected in a string of kidnappings on Staten Island.[14] In 2010, famed rapper Method Man pled guilty to attempted tax evasion and was forced to pay about $106,000 in restitution and penalties.[15] He is currently running for reelection.
On May 17, 2010, Donovan, a registered Republican, announced his candidacy for the New York attorney general election, 2010, automatically becoming the front runner for his party's nomination.[16] In spite of this Bob Antonacci, Onondaga County Comptroller, announced his intention run for Attorney General.[17] Antonacci stepped aside and endorsed Donovan after earning forty percent of the vote at the 2010 Republican State Convention.[18] With a sixty percent win of the delegates at the convention and no primary opponent, Donovan became the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party.[19] A week prior he received the endorsement of the Conservative Party of New York.[20] He was defeated on November 2nd by the Democratic nominee Eric Schneiderman.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Molinaro |
Deputy Borough President of Staten Island 2002-2003 |
Succeeded by Edward Burke |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by William L. Murphy |
District Attorney of Richmond County 2004–present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Jeanine Pirro |
Republican Nominee for New York State Attorney General 2010 |
Succeeded by most recent |