Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’ political decision to protect pedophiles in the Hasidic community by not disclosing their names only shocks those who do not know the troubled history of Mr. Hynes’ office. Rather than concentrating his office’s full attention on fighting crime, Mr. Hynes has used his office to maintain his position as District Attorney for the last 22 years.

In the late 1990’s, when John O’Hara was running against the Brooklyn political machine, Mr. Hynes acted as the machine’s hit man and prosecuted O’Hara in three separate trials for the crime of “voting.” In 2001, when Judge John L. Phillips decided to run for Brooklyn District Attorney, Mr. Hynes had him declared mentally incompetent.  In 2003, while Sandra Roper was preparing to run against Mr. Hynes, she found herself subject to felony criminal charges initiated by Mr. Hynes. 

While Mr. Hynes has been busy playing politics rather than prosecutor, he has ignored the fact that his conservative political views regarding “Stop and Frisk” and marijuana have actually played a part in increasing crime in Brooklyn.  Many people in law enforcement know that Brooklyn jurors far too often will not convict in cases hinging on police testimony. I believe the lack of public trust comes from Mr. Hynes’ failure to stand up against the abuses of “Stop and Frisk.”

With regard to “Stop and Frisk,” Mr. Hynes has stated “it’s not my place to tell a 23-year-old rookie cop how to do his job because that is the job of the NYPD.”   Surely, Mr. Hynes’ logic is flawed; it is precisely the District Attorney who must instruct the police on the law of “Stop and Frisk,” and it is the District Attorney who must stand up to the police commissioner and city hall when the police do not follow the law.

From 2005 to 2011, the abuses of “Stop and Frisk” under Mr. Hynes’ watch resulted in an explosion in marijuana arrests.  During that same period, Brooklyn led the city in both homicides and shootings, particularly in the neighborhoods of Bed-Stuy, East New York, and Brownsville.

The District Attorney’s role is not only to enforce the law, but it is also to lead the debate in Albany and advocate for policy change in the area of criminal law.  In a society where doctors dole out prescriptions for powerful addictive pain killers like Oxycontin and Vicodin, why is it that marijuana is inaccessible to those in medical need?  Contrary to Mr. Hynes’ position, I believe it is time to learn from the lessons of Prohibition and start to have an intelligent discussion on the legalization of marijuana in order to better allocate resources towards fighting violent crime.

For the last 8 years, I have been working as a prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as part of units such as the Narcotics Gang Unit and the Homicide Investigations Unit. Last week, I left a job I loved, well aware of the dangers of crossing Mr. Hynes, because as a Brooklyn native, I believe that Brooklyn’s citizens need a District Attorney who will stand up and fight for them while fighting to bring crime down. Brooklyn needs a District Attorney who will pursue justice and not politics. 

My name is Abe George and I am running for Brooklyn District Attorney.