District Court Bureau
The District Court Bureau is primarily
responsible for prosecuting both misdemeanor crimes and violations,
including Driving While Intoxicated and various quality of life crimes committed in
Suffolk County. Specialized teams within the Bureau also prosecute
bias crimes, welfare fraud, graffiti cases, sex offenses, gang crimes,
prostitution, animal cruelty and scofflaws. In 2005, the
District Court Bureau prosecuted over 30,000 cases, or about
600
new cases every week.
East End Bureau
The East End Bureau investigates and prosecutes misdemeanors and
violations occurring in Suffolk County's five eastern towns:
Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, Shelter Island and East
Hampton. The Bureau also conducts felony arraignments and
screens and evaluates felony cases for Grand Jury consideration.
It also advises the east end police agencies during their
investigations. In 2005 the Bureau handled over 7,000 cases.
Case Advisory Bureau
The Case Advisory Bureau's primary
function is to perform the initial screening and review of felony
cases. Assistants in the Bureau appear at the initial arraignment and
make bail recommendations in appropriate cases. The Bureau also
handles pre-grand jury plea negotiations and presents cases to the
Grand Jury if the negotiations are unsuccessful. Another primary
function of the Bureau is to provide legal advice to Suffolk County's
law enforcement agencies, as well as draft search warrants and
subpoenas where necessary. Assigned Assistants in the Bureau, and more
Senior Assistants assigned nightly from felony bureaus, are available
24 hours a day, 7 days per week for these functions.
Major Crime Bureau
The Major Crime Bureau investigates
and prosecutes felony cases in Suffolk County, including, but not
limited to robberies, burglaries, assaults, sexual assaults including rape, forgery, vehicular
felonies and homicide cases, that result in arrests or indictments for
manslaughter and/or criminally negligent homicide.
One of the main responsibilities of
the bureau is the investigation and supervision of motor vehicle
accident cases in Suffolk County that result in the death or physical
injury from reckless or criminally negligent conduct. These
investigations involve alcohol and drug evidence; accident
investigations and reconstruction by expert witnesses; toxicological
and forensic analysis; and disposition and/or trial of these cases.
Homicide Bureau
The District Attorney's Homicide Bureau
investigates and prosecutes murder indictments. The Bureau works
closely with the Suffolk County Police Department's Homicide Squad
during the course of its investigations. In 2005, the
Homicide bureau had 12 trials, 31 hearings, and 19 guilty pleas. They also had
multiple investigations resulting in 30 indictments and 2 SCI's. The
Homicide Bureau has successfully prosecuted every murder indictment
for the past decade.
Child Abuse and Domestic
Violence Bureau
The Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau investigates and
prosecutes all felony cases involving the physical and sexual abuse of
children under the age of 17. This includes working in conjunction
with the Homicide Squad of the Suffolk County Police Department in the
investigation and prosecution of infant homicides
The Bureau also works closely with the
Computer Crimes Section of the Suffolk County Police Department in the
investigation and prosecution of Internet child pornography.
These cases include both the possession and dissemination of child
pornography and the luring of children into sexual activity using the
Internet.
The Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
Bureau is also responsible for the prosecution of all felony cases
involving intimate partner and family violence. These cases
include assault, robbery, burglary, criminal mischief, homicide and
offenses relating to the violation of orders of protection.
CADVB handles proceedings relating to
the assignment of risk levels to sex offenders pursuant to the Sex
Offender Registration Act (Megan's Law) and prosecutes offenders for
failing to comply with the registration requirements of the statute.
Assistant District Attorneys in the
Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau are trained in the
specialized aspects of the prosecution of these cases including child
sexual abuse syndrome, battered child syndrome, shaken baby syndrome,
battered women's syndrome and rape trauma syndrome. They also
work in coordination with members of the Suffolk County Child Abuse
Strike Force, a multi-disciplinary team comprised of members of
the County Attorney's Office, the Police Department, Child Protective
Services and a medical team designated to perform examinations on
sexually abused children. The multi-disciplinary team meets regularly
at the Suffolk County Child Advocacy Center, a child friendly
environment designed to expedite the investigation of the cases with a
minimum of trauma to child victims.
The Domestic Violence Unit
This Unit handles all of the misdemeanor cases involving
intimate partner violence. All of the felony cases involving
violations of orders of protection (Criminal Contempt) are
prosecuted in the Unit up to and including the grand jury indictment
stage. Complainants appearing in the DVU are assisted in
obtaining orders of protection, referrals to Domestic Violence
advocacy agencies and safety planning. The Domestic Violence
Unit is responsible for staffing the Domestic Violence Court, a
dedicated court part in Central Islip for the handling of these
sensitive and complex cases. They are also responsible for
representing the District Attorney in the Integrated Domestic
Violence Part in the Supreme Court. There, cases involving
criminal, family court and matrimonial matters are heard before one
Supreme Court Justice.
The Domestic Violence Unit also
handles the prosecution of designated felony offenders in the Family
Court. These defendants are 13, 14, and 15 year olds charged
with serious sexual assaults.
Economic Crimes Bureau
The Economic Crimes Bureau
(ECB) is responsible for prosecuting Larcenies, Economic Frauds,
Consumer Frauds, Public Integrity, Environmental Crimes, Labor Law
Crimes, Insurance Fraud Civil Forfeiture, Computer Crimes and
conducting complex litigation efforts. The theme uniting the varied
work done by the Economic Crimes Bureau is the motivation of those
prosecuted by the Bureau. Whether they engage in traditional schemes
to defraud, violate the public trust, despoil the environment or
defraud the elderly, the persons prosecuted by the Economic Crimes
Bureau are almost all driven by a lust for financial gain at the
expense of others.
Asset
Forfeiture Unit (AFU)
The Asset Forfeiture Unit's primary responsibility is to commence
civil court actions under Article 13-A of the Civil Practice Law and
Rules to recoup the proceeds, substituted proceeds and
instrumentalities resulting from criminal activities. The unit
also maintains and administers trust accounts and disperses
restitution monies collected for the benefit of crime victims.
The unit also works closely with Federal authorities to ensure that
various law enforcement agencies within the County of Suffolk receive
their equitable share in the distribution of Federal forfeiture
monies.
Computer Crimes
Unit (CCU)
The Bureau has a Computer Crimes Unit, staffed by specially
trained detective investigators who are responsible for
investigating crimes under Article 156 of the Penal law, as well as
assisting other investigations where computers and related devices
are used to assist the criminal perpetrators. The Computer Crimes
Unit also works with the Suffolk County Police Department Computer Crime Section in
investigating and assisting computer-related prosecutions.
Environmental
Crime Unit (ECU)
Environmental crimes typically involve the violation for financial
gain of statutes designed to protect the natural environment,
executed through schemes involving the falsification of regulatory
documents and filings. Specifically, the Environmental Crimes Unit
prosecutes illegal “on-site” disposal of waste, “off-site” cases
commonly referred to as “midnight dumping”, deforestation of Pine
Barrens and other publicly owned land and the illegal
commercialization of fish & wildlife. The Environmental Crimes Unit
investigators are on 24-hour call to respond to environmental crime
scenes or other HAZMAT emergencies requiring their expertise.
Labor Law Unit
(LLU)
The Labor Law Unit has the responsibility of investigating
violations of New York State’s Labor Laws, primarily the “prevailing
wage” laws governing compensation on public works projects. These
investigations tend to be time and labor intensive as they involve
multiple surveillances, undercover operations, cultivation of
cooperative witnesses, search warrants and reconstruction of
financial and payroll records. Members of LLU are also responsible
for conducting detection of Labor Law Violations training.
Tax Crimes
Unit (TCU)
The
Tax Crimes Unit specializes in crimes against the tax laws of the
State of New York. The TCU receives case referrals from many
agencies and works closely with several State and Federal Agencies
to investigate and prosecute tax crimes. Many of these crimes
involve the evasion or theft of taxes from New York State. Some of
the areas that the TCU investigates include: sales tax avoidance and
theft; schemes involving payroll withholding taxes; excise tax
avoidance on cigarettes, gasoline and alcohol; real property tax
fraud; and personal income tax evasion.
White Collar
Crime / Complex Litigation Unit (WCCU)
The White Collar Crime Unit handles the investigations and
prosecution of: larcenies, including extortions and embezzlements,
attorney frauds, investment, real estate, commercial and
home-improvement scams, bank fraud, credit card and check fraud, tax
crimes, financial abuse of the elderly, money laundering and most
other schemes that have an economic impact on our county.
Specialized
Auditing Services
The Economic Crimes Bureau has investigative auditors to assist
in analyzing and reconstructing the records reflecting the various
types of financial schemes prosecuted by it. The auditors work at
the direction of assistants in analyzing complex financial records,
bank records, payrolls, credit transaction records, property
transaction records and other raw numerical data. Typically, the
Unit analyzes over half a million pages of data per year.
Insurance
Crimes Bureau
In 2003, in response to the exploding number of insurance fraud
schemes, a new Bureau was formed to coordinate and target these
crimes. The Insurance Crimes Bureau works closely with the New York
State Department of Insurance, Investigative Frauds Bureau and the
Suffolk County Police Department Auto Crimes Squad. Insurance crimes investigations
typically involve surveillances leading to sting operations followed
by search warrant execution and reconstruction of documentary
evidence. Because of the nature of the crimes involved,
investigations often result in subsequent spin-off cases. The
Bureau
is also responsible for conducting training of Suffolk County Police
Department personnel
in-service and at the Academy level to further increase the efficacy
of investigative resources.
Special Investigations Bureau
The Special Investigations Bureau, formally known as the Rackets
Bureau has the primary task of investigating and prosecuting crimes
committed by individuals associated with the traditional and
non-traditional organized crime. Staffed by Assistant District
Attorneys, detectives from the Suffolk County Police Department,
Detective Investigators, and a
clerical staff, the Bureau is designed to be proactive in
accomplishing its mission. The Bureau uses a variety of
techniques, including: undercover operations; the execution of
eavesdropping warrants; and the investigative authority of the Grand
Jury. As a result, the Bureau has been successful in obtaining
convictions of individuals who have committed crimes relating to the
distribution of guns, prostitution, gambling, counterfeiting,
conspiracy to commit murder, money laundering, enterprise corruption,
assault, larceny by extortion, and criminal usury.
Anti-Gang Unit
The Anti-Gang Unit was established in
response to the escalation of gang related crimes and activities in
Suffolk County. The primary purpose of the Unit is to proactively
address the escalation of gang violence in order to prevent the
problem from developing into the scale seen in other parts of the
country.
The Anti Gang Unit addresses the
problem of criminal gang activity by serving a number of diverse
functions, including: identification of gang related arrests;
enhancing prosecution of gang related crimes and upgrading crimes when
appropriate; assisting local police departments in developing
strategies where gang activity is prevalent; education of Assistant
District Attorneys on the subject of gangs and gang crime; cooperative
interaction with the police departments, Probation Department,
Corrections, Parole, and Immigration in gang related crimes; assisting
community groups in the establishment of neighborhood watch programs;
prove in-service training to Suffolk County law enforcement agencies
on the subject of gang activity and crimes; graffiti interpretation
and documentation; interviewing witnesses in gang-related incidents;
surveillance.
Government
Corruption Bureau
The
Government Corruption Bureau was created in 2005 as a result of the
expansion of the Government Corruption Task Force and the merger of
the Public Integrity Unit with the Task Force. The Bureau investigates
and prosecutes crimes by public officials who violate the trust placed
upon them by the voters and taxpayers. Since January of 2002 there
have been numerous successful prosecutions of public officials and
other public employees. The work of the Government Corruption Bureau
is ongoing and expanding. The specific make up and resources of the
Bureau, which include several prosecutors and dozens of investigative
personnel, are highly confidential.
Narcotics Bureau
The Narcotics Bureau conducts
extensive electronic monitoring and complex investigations of
narcotics trafficking and works with local, county, state, federal and
international police agencies to prosecute narcotics offenses in
Suffolk County. The Bureau also coordinates the office's East End Drug
Enforcement Task Force, established to respond to the growing need to
address the drug distribution problems in the five eastern towns of
Suffolk County.
Appeals Bureau
The Appeals Bureau handles all
post-judgment proceedings in the state and federal courts. In addition
to this primary function, the appellate attorneys frequently provide
trial support in the form of legal research, writing and oral
argument. The Bureau's specialists also deal with extraditions,
subpoenas, sealing and unsealing of files, requests for records, and
proceedings brought under New York State's Indian Law.
The Bureau consistently sustains
convictions in more than 97% of the appeals in felony cases. In 2005,
it
handled 144 state appeals (2 in the Court of Appeals), 70 state
habeas corpus proceedings, 41 federal habeas corpus proceedings, 168
Freedom of Information requests, 21 extraditions, as well as over
800 other matters.
Insanity
and Competency Unit (ICU)
The Insanity and Competency Unit's primary responsibility involves
hearings to determine defendants' competence to stand trial and
post-commitment retention proceedings.
Training and Education Unit
The Training and Education Unit provides training for prosecutors and
investigative personnel throughout the Office. The Unit provides
Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit for prosecutors as an
Accredited Provider of continuing legal education in the State of New
York. The Unit also coordinates with and staffs appropriate
courses for the Suffolk County Sheriff, State, County and local Police
Departments, as well as with the New York State Prosecutors Training
Institute (NYPTI). The Unit also helps arrange for Assistant
District Attorneys to attend appropriate training and education
programs offered by outside agencies in order to further the expertise
and professionalism of the attorneys in the Office.
Victim Services Unit
The Victim Services Unit administers the
office of Victim Assistance. The Unit has offices in Riverhead,
Central Islip, and in the East End Bureau. Referrals are received
primarily from the District Attorney’s office as well as from
hospitals, funeral homes, doctors, community agencies, and the Suffolk
County Police.
The Victim
Assistance Program is available to provide services to crime victims,
their families, and witnesses involved in the criminal justice
process. The Program offers various services to crime
victims, including: Assistance with filing for compensation with the
New York State Crime Victims Board; Information on the victim’s role
in the criminal justice process; Assistance with security measures;
Assistance with filing for Orders of Protection; Court information and
case information; Court accompaniment; Referrals; and Advocacy with
other agencies and post-conviction assistance.
During 2005, our
staff opened over one-thousand cases. Additionally during the year,
the staff had contact with over 1450 primary victims and over 700
secondary victims (family members of crime victims also in need of
assistance). Many of these victims were child victims of physical
and sexual abuse. Many were victims of domestic violence, with the
remainder of the cases arising out of homicides, robbery, assaults,
DWI, and other crimes.
For more
information, contact the Victim Assistance Program at 631-852-2555 in
Riverhead, 631-853-4138 in Central Islip and 631-852-8800 on the East
End.
