Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah recently announced appointments to her senior executive team that will bring to the DA’s office talented leaders with years of prosecutorial and other relevant experience. “We are committed to having a seasoned leadership team that reflects the diversity of our county and is dedicated to keeping our communities safe and making our justice system more fair for all,” said Rocah. “With these appointments and more to come in the coming days and weeks, we will significantly increase diversity in race, gender and sexual orientation at the highest levels of the District Attorney’s office.”
In her remarks at a swearing-in and inauguration ceremony on Monday, Rocah said that the DA’s office would “foster new ideas and rethink systems that no longer work. And, most of all, help restore the public’s trust and confidence in our justice system.” She noted that “We are making overdue changes to address underrepresentation of people of color and women at the highest levels of the office through well-deserved promotions and hirings.”
Amy Finzi will serve as Rocah’s Chief Assistant District Attorney. Ms. Finzi was an award-winning federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she tried numerous jury trials to verdict and argued many appeals before the Second Circuit. She specialized in multinational investigations of foreign drug organizations in Latin America and the Middle East, oversaw dozens of wiretap investigations and conducted Title III surveillance training for AUSAs across the country.
Focus on Ethics
DA Rocah said that she “will demand the highest standards of integrity from the DA’s Office and the many police forces that serve Westchester County.” She noted that “The DA’s Office will now have more stringent ethical guidelines and a dedicated ethics officer to ensure that every prosecutor knows the immense responsibility of their position and has a place to turn for ethical guidance. We will have a zero-tolerance policy for intentional prosecutorial misconduct, and we will increase training and enforcement on disclosure and integrity rules. We will review, as warranted, past police involved-killings, and establish protocols for working or declining to work with officers whose conduct is under investigation.”
Berit Berger will serve as Executive Assistant District Attorney for Policy and Strategic Initiatives and Chief Ethics Officer. From 2007 to 2018, Ms. Berger was a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for both the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. She worked on a wide variety of federal criminal matters including cases involving international terrorism, violent crime, trafficking and racketeering, and was awarded the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service for Operation High Rise, an investigation and prosecution of an al-Qaeda terrorist cell that plotted to conduct suicide bombings on New York subway trains. She most recently served as the Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School.
Increasing Diversity and Inclusion
“We now have an Executive-level Officer of Diversity and Inclusion who will work with a committee to coordinate internal office training, ensure diverse hiring and maintain an inclusive environment,” Rocah noted in her remarks.
Lila E. Kirton was promoted to the new role of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Intergovernmental Affairs and Criminal Justice Initiatives and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer and will continue to direct the Office of Immigrant Affairs. Ms. Kirton joined the Westchester District Attorney’s Office in 2017 after serving as Chief of Staff for the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Prior to that, she spent 16 years in the Office of the New York State Attorney General in several positions. She began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Queens County.
More Support for Cold Cases
DA Rocah also outlined a renewed focus on and investigation of cold cases: “Our duty as prosecutors is particularly significant with cases that have been stalled or ignored. Victims and their families never stop hoping for justice and neither should we. We will create a new cold case unit to look at these cases with fresh eyes and reinvestigate as necessary. We will make it a priority to examine untested forensic evidence, including rape kits, that could help bring answers and justice to victims and their families.”
Daniel P. McKenna will serve as Chief Investigator. Chief McKenna entered federal government service in 1991 after being commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. Following his military service, he joined the FBI and was assigned to the New York City Field Division as a Special Agent. He was promoted to FBI headquarters in 2010 as a program manager overseeing international organized crime investigations. In 2012, he returned to New York and was appointed Senior Supervisory Resident Agent, FBI Westchester Resident Agency.
Partnering with Law Enforcement for Greater Accountability
“To our partners in law enforcement I say: We want the same thing. We want our communities to trust us. We want our badges to have respect. We want to be proud of our job and our colleagues,” Rocah stated at the inauguration event. “None of us can do our job effectively when people question our integrity. We will work with you to reduce crime and keep our communities safe in a way that will earn and keep the public’s trust.”
Wade Hardy will serve as Deputy Chief Criminal Investigator for Law Enforcement Accountability, Fairness and Transparency. Mr. Hardy is a former Lieutenant and Detective with the White Plains Police Department, where he worked passionately to build bridges between the department and the communities it served, and advanced initiatives to improve conditions in public housing, neighborhood associations and the central business district.
Improved Communications, More Transparency
DA Rocah also noted that the office will “hold ourselves accountable by making public data on racial disparities in arrests and case dispositions, as well as internal data on diversity within the office.”
Dan Weiller will serve as Director of Communications. Mr. Weiller is a former press secretary to the Speaker of the State Assembly and deputy press secretary to the State Comptroller, and also directed communications and media relations for the New York State Thruway Authority and Canal Corporation.
DA Rocah also commented on the recent attack by supporters of President Trump on the Capitol in Washington. “We all witnessed an attack on our democracy and our nation’s Capital. While many in law enforcement did their jobs with bravery and skill, there was an overall systemic failure that allowed a violent mob to breach into secured areas, destroy property and threaten the safety of elected officials,’ Rocah said. “Any observer of yesterday’s events cannot help but wonder if the law enforcement response would have been the same had the perpetrators been people of color. It is an abuse of power if there are no consequences for those who clearly and repeatedly broke federal and state laws as they engaged in unlawful, destructive and violent acts.
“When we see what looks like unequal enforcement of the law, it destroys people’s faith in our criminal justice system and undermines the rule of law across the country,”
This violent attack against our nation cannot be allowed to happen again. We must take the lead on true accountability and demand consequences for all those who engaged in domestic terrorism, including those who aided and abetted them in the commission of their crimes,”
