Posted by GET NY on 16:47:03 12/24/04

DA Hynes denies 'political' indicting

New York Post
February 19, 2004

By JEANE MacINTOSH

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes yesterday blasted allegations that he prosecutes his foes for political reasons - responding to an accusation made by a lawyer who ran against him.

"It's just not true," Hynes told The Post yesterday.

Hynes denied claims leveled Tuesday by Sandra Roper, who alleged she was singled out and hit with criminal charges after Hynes learned she was challenging him.

Roper -- who ran against Hynes in 2001 -- made her allegations in a motion filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, seeking to dismiss a criminal indictment that accuses her of forgery and theft from a client.

She has pleaded not guilty to the indictment.

"We received the original complaint about Sandra Roper, but we turned the case over to a special prosecutor," Hynes noted. "This office wasn't permitted to go near it [to avoid] any appearance of impropriety."

Special prosecutor Maranda Fritz is handling the case.

In her motion, Roper claimed the chent had complained about four other lawyers, none of whom were prosecuted

Hynes said those cases, too, were turned over to Fritz.

Hynes also disputed Roper's claim that his office seized the assets of former civil court judge John Philhps in a move to keep him from running against Hynes for DA.

Hynes said his office did participate in a mental competency proceedings involving Phillips - but said the DA's involvement came as part of a probe of a fraud case, in which Phillips had allegedly been a victim.

"When we contacted Phillips about the case, it was clear he was suffering from dementia," Hynes said.

"We tried to help judge Phillips," Hynes said, adding that the DA didn't freeze the judge's assets.

After a court appointed a guardian for the judge and his assets, Hynes said, "We bowed out."

Nobody was prosecuted in the Phillips case, the DA said, because Phillips had given the alleged con man power of attorney.

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