April 11, 2014
By Stephanie West Special to LaborPress
Brooklyn, NY – In response to a recent story in the NY Post which stated that the firing of Brooklyn DA Detective Investigator Andrew Vecchione as political payback, based on the fact that Andrew’s father was a colleague of Joe Hynes, Detective Investigator’s Association President John Fleming stated that, “If this is true and we believe it is, than Ken Thompson has set a most dangerous precedent which will cast doubt on the impartiality of his office in general, and the use of his detectives in particular.
In my 25 years on this job I have witnessed each county have a new DA administration come on board, and never, ever have changes been made to line investigators. I personally witnessed two new administrations in the Special Narcotics Prosecutor and never did any investigator get fired.”
The DIA is concerned over the impact this will have on the detectives in Brooklyn who now are in fear that others are being lined up to be fired. There is also concern that this action will send a message to other new DA’s who come into office and decide to clean house at the investigator rank. “We are like the furniture.” Fleming said. “We have a very important role in the agency, but it never involves politics, and as a matter of public policy never should.”
Detective Vecchione began his career in the office as a security officer and was sent to the police academy two years later. He was appointed in late 2012 and was not yet assigned to any cases. He was used primarily to serve subpoenas and transport prisoners from central booking.
District Attorney Investigators in New York City are the primary investigative arm for the District Attorney and are experienced in the areas of organized crime, narcotics trafficking, political corruption, homicide investigation, and complex frauds. They may work with other law enforcement groups or alone and report directly to the District Attorney. They have full police powers under the New York City Administrative Code and the State Criminal Procedure Law.
