I've much appreciated Joe Hynes over the years, for lots of reasons, going way back to his prosecution of the racist thugs who attacked and killed Michael Griffith some 25 years ago.
But there creep up periodically these tales of Joe Hynes prosecuting people who dare to run against the local political machine, including those who show the chutzpah of challenging him.
John O'Hara, pictured here, came to mind lately because of a Daily News editorial this week ("Begging the gov's pardon"), which demanded Gov. Cuomo pardon O'Hara, who was selectively prosecuted by Hynes for "supposedly voting from a wrong address," the paper said.
In a 2005 interview with the Libertarian Party's Jim Lesczynski, O'Hara said Hynes prosecuted him "because I ran for office and I lost." He said large numbers of attorneys in Hynes' office, including Hynes himself, violate the law by living outside of Brooklyn.He said the Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted him lived in New Jersey; and that Hynes lives in Breezy Point, Queens, a place that tolerates Italians but where "Blacks and Hispanics are forbidden."
Lesczynski said Hynes refused to go on the program to dispute O'Hara's assertions. (O'Hara was convicted a number of times of voting charges brought against him by Hynes, charges that O'Hara says carried the weight of felonies. A note accompanying the below video says O'Hara's voting conviction was "the first such conviction in New York State since the 1873 conviction of Susan B. Anthony.")
Maybe Joe Hynes will see fit to respond to what's on this tape, dated though it is. That would be beneficial to those who believe in good government with collegial dialogue. (Note: the video is 28 minutes but worth it for political junkies, wonks and lovers of democracy.)
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