History

The New York County District Attorney’s Office is one of the nation’s preeminent prosecutor’s offices. Since the 1930s, there have been just four elected District Attorneys, and each has had a significant impact on modern criminal prosecution.

The modern era of professional, non-partisan prosecution in New York County began in 1935 when Thomas E. Dewey was named Deputy Assistant District Attorney in New York County; with his own staff, offices and budget, Mr. Dewey operated as an independent prosecutor for rackets cases. Dewey took the lead in investigating extortion rings, prostitution, gambling and corruption in organized labor and government. Under Mr. Dewey, who was elected District Attorney in his own right in 1937, the Office convicted a host of organized crime members and associates, including the notorious "Lucky" Luciano and Tammany Hall boss Jimmy Hines.

Frank S. Hogan, one of Mr. Dewey's top assistants, succeeded Mr. Dewey in 1941; he was re-elected nine times and served as District Attorney for 32 years, until he resigned from office in 1974, a short time before his death. Under Mr. Hogan, the New York County District Attorney's Office continued to conduct major investigations into corruption and racketeering, including, for example, highly-publicized probes in the 1950s and early 1960s into the fixing of college basketball games and the television quiz show scandals. In high profile cases as well as more routine, though no less serious, cases of homicides, robberies and other street crimes, the Office developed a national reputation for competence, non-partisanship and fairness; the Office was widely, and accurately, known to be as concerned with exonerating the innocent as with convicting the guilty. In one of its most celebrated cases, the Office, after an extensive investigation, exonerated George Whitmore, Jr., who had confessed to the brutal 1963 killing of two young women in their Manhattan apartment; the real killer was later identified, prosecuted and convicted. After Mr. Hogan’s resignation, Richard Kuh served as DA until the elected successor took office.

From 1975 to 2009, Robert M. Morgenthau was the New York County District Attorney. Faced with rising levels of violent street crime and property offenses when he took office in 1975, District Attorney Morgenthau restructured the Office, implementing early screening of felony cases by experienced assistant district attorneys and "vertical" prosecution, which guaranteed that felonies and other serious cases would be handled by the same assistant from start to finish. Over the years, he has created many specialized units, including the nation’s first Sex Crimes Unit. Combined with improved prosecution strategies, these organizational changes boosted New York County's conviction rate and led to a dramatic decline in violent crime. The felony conviction rate, at 73 percent in 1974, rose to more than 80 percent by 1980 and has remained close to 90 percent since then. With more violent felons and repeat offenders being sentenced to state prison, crime in New York County has dropped markedly. For example, in 2008 there were 62 homicides, 89 percent fewer than in 1974, the year Mr. Morgenthau was elected. During Mr. Morgenthau's tenure, there was an equally dramatic drop in other crimes throughout Manhattan: robbery decreased 84 percent, burglary 92 percent, and forcible rape 81 percent.

For decades, the Office has tirelessly pursued organized crime, white-collar crime and public corruption cases. The Investigation Division was created to coordinate the Office's consumer fraud, white-collar crime and organized crime efforts, creating, as needed, specialized units such as the Labor Racketeering Unit and the Official Corruption Unit to focus on areas of particular concern. The Investigation Division has exposed and prosecuted systemic corruption and fraud in the construction trades, the garment industry, foreign and domestic banking, the securities business, municipal unions and city government. In a prosecution of major figures in the private trade-waste business in the mid-to-late 1990s, the Office used the state's Organized Crime Control Act to help rid an important sector of the city's economy of mob domination and anti-competitive practices, leading to administrative reform in the licensing and regulation of waste carters.

Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., became the District Attorney on January 1, 2010. A former prosecutor in the Office, his plan for the New York County District Attorney’s Office includes robust crime prevention, aggressive prosecution of white collar crime and a commitment to bringing the DA’s Office closer to the neighborhoods it serves.

District Attorneys of New York County: