Internal Analysis of Finances Finds Five Languishing State Grants, $982,433 in Funding Now Secured to Support Victims, Outreach and Anti-Violence Programs

Office Restructured, New Bureaus Created to Streamline Case Load, Divert Youth Offenders to Alternative Programming, and Expand Focus on Guns, Financial Crimes and Quality of Life Issues

Since January 1, 58 Gun Totting Individuals Sent to State Prison, 675 Felony Cases Initiated

Albany County District Attorney Lee C. Kindlon announced today a series of office modifications and improvements that have unearthed delinquent grants, saved tax payer dollars, streamlined internal processes, and bolstered the efforts to help victims and improve public safety for the residents of Albany County.

“I said when I was sworn in that we would build a DA’s Office that was more efficient, more transparent and more responsible, and our team of 87 ADAs, victim advocates, investigators, community outreach and support staff are better equipped to accomplish these missions today than we were January 1,” Kindlon said. “We’ve secured more grant funding, saved tax payer dollars, and improved efficiency and efficacy in everything we do.”

“We follow a pragmatic approach to public safety every day we come to work – use our experiences and judgment to make our community safer and more prosperous, get guns off the street, and give a second chance to our youth offenders who show promise in improving their lives.”

Securing Grant Funding and Saving Tax Dollars By Streamlining Operations

At the direction of DA Kindlon, newly appointed Chief Compliance Officer and Ethics Counsel Patrick Collins conducted an internal analysis of the Office’s finances over the last several years. Collins found nearly $1 million in state grant funding sitting on the shelf.

A Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) grant that had been languishing since 2023 has been filed and secured, bringing in $672,433 of funds dedicated to the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative. Four other grants that were delinquent due to a failure to report have also been awarded, totaling $310,000.

The Office has also received a new Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence initiative (STRIVE) grant that will bring in almost $500,000 to the County (ACDA $377,739; Probation $92,783). These funds will be applied directly to domestic and intimate partner violence initiatives and prosecutions in the City of Albany.

DA Kindlon has also ordered a full independent audit of the Office’s finances to ensure improved fiduciary responsibility.

Chief Investigator and Director of Operations Adam Hornick, at DA Kindlon's direction, led an effort to streamline office purchases and vendor contracts, including the Office’s new use of State contracts that will save more than $50,000 yearly on travel expenses and procurements.

The Office also consolidated and downsized its vehicle fleet, resulting in a net savings.

Staff completed an inventory audit of more than 15,400 items of evidence in the possession of the DA’s office following DCJS’ best practice methods, which also led to a number of previously unaccounted items of evidence being secured.

Getting Guns Off the Street and Securing Wins in the Courtroom

Since Jan. 1, the Office’s Assistant District Attorneys have scored state prison sentences for 58 individuals who were illegally possessing a gun, helping in the effort to get guns off the street while making our communities safer.

The Office has also opened 675 felony cases on criminals across Albany County.

This has all happened at the same time the Office successfully prosecuted high-profile cases like the Lucas Healey Shogun attack, the overdose death of Baby Eli, the murder of K-Won Lillard at Ciro's, the murder of Ozzie Gardner, the murder of Javon Ward, and the death of Baby Moses, a 27-year-old cold case.

DA Kindlon has also taken on his first case and will serve as lead prosecutor in the shooting death of Dewitt Miller, Albany’s first homicide of 2025.

Restructuring the Office and Adding More Bureaus

The Office has hired 19 employees since Jan. 1, including eight Assistant District Attorneys, crime victim advocates, and support staff.

Just days into office, DA Kindlon formed two new bureaus – Restorative Justice and Street Crimes – and re-established the Financial Crimes Bureau.

The Restorative Justice Bureau deals with some of society’s most vexing problems, including oversight of Drug Court, Veterans Court and Alternative Treatment Court (ATC). The Office is also a full participant in the Albany and Cohoes/Watervliet LEAD programs, namely Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion. These courts and LEAD endeavor to tackle substance abuse, poverty, mental illness and homelessness.

The Office has two diversion boards made up of community members and supervised closely by ADAs. One hears cases involving low-level felony crimes, the other hears cases involving select gun possessions. These programs are supervised out of the Community Justice Outreach Center that meets regularly with participants, monitoring their progress and assisting them in changing the trajectory of their lives.

“I believe that every young man or young woman with a gun is an extraordinary circumstance,” Kindlon said. “Each of these cases is reviewed individually, so that the most appropriate outcome is reached, while focusing on what’s in the best interest of the victim, society and the defendant.”

The Street Crimes Bureau focuses on Albany City Court, quality of life crimes, getting individuals with illegal guns off the street, and lower level felonies that used to slip through the cracks.

The Financial Crimes Bureau tackles white collar crimes, wage theft, scams that target our seniors, tax fraud and deed theft. Already, the bureau has opened what we believe to be the first two deed theft cases the office has ever prosecuted, and we’re collaborating and expanding partnerships with the Attorney General’s office and other state enforcement agencies.

The Office is also leading a renewed focus on organized retail crime with the establishment of a regional task force that will hone in on large-scale retail theft that happens in Colonie, Guilderland and Bethlehem that often funds criminal activity in Albany.