While Black Westchester does not endorse candidates in most local elections, we felt this one was too important not to throw our support behind who we feel would be the best candidate for the office. We need someone with prosecutorial experience who can lead the DA’s office with much needed fresh and innovative policies. We do not make this endorsement lightly. So allow me to explain why we are endorsing Mimi Rocah for Westchester County District Attorney and why we feel the current DA Anthony Scarpino has to go.
First, let me start with why I feel we need a change in the District Attorney’s office because statements like that should not be made all haphazardly. While we haven’t been able to figure out exactly why, our current DA has turned a blind eye to police and governmental corruption since he has been in office even though on his website to make a case for re-election he says, he “has been bold and progressive in the execution of justice.”
Scarpino ran on prosecuting corruption but has not shown himself to be more than a male version of his predecessor Janet DiFiore. At least DiFiore did prosecute two Yonkers cops, but it was more to cover herself because she prosecuted several cases where these officers were involved, if you call being sentenced to 8 and 20 weeks of weekends in jail a prosecution.
Whether it’s incompetence, ineptitude, or just plain submissiveness, Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino failure to investigate, indict and prosecute corruption has given individuals like Joseph Spiezio carte blanche to steal from the taxpayers of Mount Vernon.
Scarpino continuously turned a blind eye to police corruption like the highly publicized illegitimacy of former MVPD Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Spiezio. Several complaints have been filed but Scarpino refused to do what the residents have elected him to do – prosecute corruption as he promised. He refused to even investigate by closing complaints without even talking to the victims. There is so much more but we included the links to plethora or articles and editorials you can read at your leisure, but I guess that’s what he considers being “bold and progressive in the execution of justice.”
Now that we got that out of the way, when publicly pronouncing an elected official has to go and stating the we need a change, we have to be careful and make sure we state exactly what kind of change we want and need. We have found out in recent years change just for the sake of change isn’t necessarily a good thing.
The killing of George Floyd has once again furthered the conversation on the need to have a District Attorney who has the testicular fortitude to prosecute police criminality and corruption. Scarpino or DiFiore have failed us on that front. We do not have to look 1,120.2 miles away to Minneapolis, DiFiore refused to prosecute the White Plains Police Officers who killed Kenneth Chamberlain, but I digress.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mimi Rocah has a strong record of standing up to Trump and prosecuted a veritable Who’s Who of big-name mobsters, from John Gotti Jr. to members of the Genovese and DeCavalcante crime families. We need someone like that to tackle the high publicized police criminality and governmental corruption in Westchester County. Sure Mount Vernon Corporation Council and Mayor were indicted but not by Scarpino, the AG’s had to come in. They had to go to outside agencies for justice so why not just bring a former fed in to do the job.
Another reason Rocah receives our endorsement is we need someone who is going to prosecute public corruption and her refusing any donations from, elected officials, police unions, and lawyers who have business before the DA’s office is putting your money where your mouth is. So we know she will not be beholden to elected officials who may need to be prosecuted, or police unions who represent police personnel she may have to prosecute.
Her advocacy for modernizing sexual assault prosecution, restorative justice, and ending racial bias in our criminal justice system is an added bonus. She was already the Chief of the Westchester office of the Department of Justice under President Obama, so we feel she has what it takes to be our next District Attorney.
After years of D.I.NO. DiFiore (Democrat In Name Only) and Scary Scarpino who has failed to prosecute police criminality in multiple municipalities especially in Mount Vernon – the city he calls home – its time to vote for a candidate with prosecutorial experience who won’t just make excuses and pass the buck but prosecute police criminality, public and governmental corruption and that is why Black Westchester endorses Mimi Rocah for Westchester County District Attorney.
