***PRESS RELEASE***
Mimi Rocah, Senator Alessandra Biaggi Condemn DA Scarpino for Inaction on Allegations of Police Misconduct.
Joined by other local leaders, Rocah condemns failure to investigate and take seriously claims of actual innocence by criminal defense attorneys.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Mimi Rocah, the former federal prosecutor running for Westchester District Attorney, during a press conference today condemned current District Attorney Anthony Scarpino for sitting on shocking evidence of misconduct by Mt. Vernon police alleged in newly revealed recordings detailed today in the latest installment of a Gothamist/WNYC investigation.
The ongoing series reveals a whistleblower police officer’s secret recordings of other Mt. Vernon police officers, in some cases, confessing to misconduct. One police officer admits in a recording revealed today to planting evidence, framing innocent people, and protecting “favored” drug dealers. The recordings also include police officers using confidential informants with criminal records and the DA’s office’s knowledge of the corroborating information and subsequent inaction for at least nine months.
“Tony Scarpino’s failure to truly investigate, his attempts to falsely dismiss these allegations and demonize his critics, his efforts to silence the press, and his failure to engage with defense attorneys advocating on behalf of people with claims of actual innocence demonstrate clearly that he does not understand, does not appreciate, or does not care about the gravity of this situation,” said Rocah, who was joined by State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, exoneree and criminal justice advocate Jeff Deskovic, Yonkers City Councilwoman Shanae Williams, and Yonkers City Councilwoman Tasha Diaz.
She once again called for New York State Attorney General Letitia James to fully investigate.
A full video of the press conference can be seen here.
“Tony Scarpino can continue to take no responsibility for the actions of his office. He can continue to shout ‘no corroboration’ over and over. He can continue to lie about the facts of this case, about me, and about who is funding his campaign. But this is bigger than any single campaign issue. This is about the damage this situation is causing to his office’s reputation, to the state of police-community relations, and to the cause of justice," added Rocah.
“As the chair of the Ethics Committee in Albany, as someone who truly believes in the power of government...this is unacceptable. There is a breakdown, there is something going wrong inside the Westchester DA’s office,” said Biaggi. “We cannot afford to have any law enforcement office, whether it’s the police department or the DA’s office, have a situation where we are silencing people. This is one of the many reasons why I am standing with Mimi Rocah. One of the many reasons why I am voting and making sure everybody else will be voting for Mimi Rocah on June 23rd. And one of the many reasons why we need change in our DA’s office in Westchester.”
“District Attorney Scarpino simply cannot be entrusted with the District Attorney’s Office any longer and I again call for the voters on June 23rd, to vote District Attorney Scarpino out of office. We need a District Attorney with integrity, who’s going to be all about transparency, that’s Mimi Rocah,” said Deskovic.
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