PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

January 31, 2005

Contact: William J. Smith (718) 556-7150

DISTRICT ATTORNEY DONOVAN ELECTED OFFICER OF STATE PROSECUTOR’S ORGANIZATION

***Donovan Elected 3rd Vice President of New York State District Attorney’s association***

STATEN ISLAND, NY – Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. has been elected the 3rd Vice President of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, Inc. (DAASNY). District Attorney Donovan was elected to the office during a vote held at the DAASNY Winter Conference held last week at the New York Hilton in Manhattan.

“I am flattered to be elected by my peers in the law enforcement community to serve as an officer of the State District Attorney’s Association,” stated District Attorney Donovan in accepting his election. “This association is an important vehicle in fighting on behalf of the public safety of the people of New York.”

District Attorney Donovan was elected to fill a vacancy created by Albany County District Attorney Paul A. Clyne, who was defeated for re-election last year.

Association President Kevin L. Wright, who also serves as the District Attorney of Putnam County, praised Donovan as a seasoned prosecutor and a man of distinguished public service to his community who promises to bring great enthusiasm to the office of 3rd Vice President of the District Attorneys Association which represents some 3000 members in prosecution work across the State. District Attorney Wright said he was confident when he first proposed Mr. Donovan for the position that he would be an asset and a credit to the Association.

Wright said that in addition to implementing innovative policies targeting crime on Staten Island since Donovan became District Attorney last year, Donovan has very important and distinguished prior public service to the people of his community. President Wright said that the District Attorneys Association which is comprised of small as well as large district attorney offices across the State will benefit from Dan Donovan bringing a New York City perspective back to the meetings of the Officers of our Association, where a New York City district attorney has not sat for some time.

Founded in 1909 as the New York State District Attorneys Association, the DAASNY’s purpose, according to its constitution, “Is to serve as an agency for closer personal acquaintance among prosecuting officials in the State of New York and to make possible the exchange of information and views in respect to the conduct of their various offices so as to promote a greater degree of efficiency and, as deemed necessary or advisable, to so support or oppose legislation for the amendment of the criminal law and for the improvement of the procedure of the prosecution of crime."

“This position will allow me, as a representative of Staten Island, to ensure that our community has a voice in an organization which directly influences law enforcement in this state and can have a role in preserving the quality of life in our Borough,” noted the District Attorney.

Also from the Office of the Richmond County District Attorney, Karen F. McGee, Chief of the Appeals Bureau, serves as the Secretary of the DAASNY. Ms. McGee has been with the Office of the District Attorney since 1983 and is a graduate of the College of Wooster and the Boston College Law School. She was elected to the position of Secretary in 1989, becoming the first woman to hold an elected office in the Association.

For more information on the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, please consult their website:

http://www.nysdaa.org

About District Attorney Donovan

District Attorney Donovan, sworn-in to office on January 1, 2004, is a native Staten Islander with over 20 years of public service. Prior to his election, he served as Staten Island’s Deputy Borough President and Chief of Staff to then-Borough President Guy V. Molinari. A graduate of St. John’s University and Fordham University School of Law, Donovan served eight years in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

As District Attorney, Dan Donovan has implemented innovative policies targeting crime on Staten Island. While leading the City of New York in felony conviction rate his first year in office, D.A. Donovan has launched efforts aimed at prosecuting drunk drivers, graffiti vandals and those who prey on senior citizens and children. Under Donovan’s leadership, his office has: obtained the Borough’s first indictment and arrest of a “John Doe” DNA case, filed the second bias crime indictment in New York State for a crime against the elderly, and obtained the first felony conviction in the state under Stephanie’s Law – targeting video voyeurs. In 2004, the Staten Island District Attorney’s office also led the city in the conviction and incarceration of Megan’s Law violators.

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