Assistant DA Ama Dwimoh suspended as interns claim abuse, saying she yelled, threatened to fire them
The New York Daily News by William Sherman - June 18, 2010
A tough-as-nails Brooklyn assistant district attorney who built her reputation prosecuting child abuse cases is being probed for abusing her interns, the Daily News has learned. District Attorney Charles Hynes has suspended Assistant District Attorney Ama Dwimoh amid allegations she constantly screamed at the intern lawyers - and threatened to fire them for little or no reason, sources said. Dwimoh, 46, who heads the elite crimes against children bureau, and prosecuted the notorious Nixzmary Brown murder case, was relieved of her duties for two weeks pending the internal investigation, the sources said. A spokesman for Hynes confirmed that Dwimoh "is the subject of an internal investigation." He would not elaborate. Dwimoh declined to comment outside her Brooklyn home. The 22-year veteran is expected back Monday even as the probe of her behavior continues. Sources said internal investigators will question all staffers in her bureau. The probe started when a group of interns took its complaints directly to Hynes, sources said. The young intern attorneys all come from private law firms, including some of the city's most prestigious partnerships. Under a special arrangement, they work full time for the 50-person crimes against children bureau. Their firms pay half their salaries and the DA's office pays the other half, sources said. After months of enduring Dwimoh's office rage, the interns decided they had had enough, the sources told The News. Dwimoh, a graduate of Georgetown Law School, has headed the bureau since it was founded in 1997. The bureau investigates and prosecutes all cases involving sex abuse of children under the age of 11 and physical abuse of children under the age of 17 in which the alleged perpetrator is a parent or guardian. It is the only bureau of its kind in the city. It also prosecutes those who kill children and has handled more than 76 of those cases. Dwimoh has said her passion for prosecuting child abuse cases stems from growing up with a friend who was abused by her stepfather. Two years ago, she prosecuted the couple who beat 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown to death after years of physically abusing her in a case that horrified the nation, in part because child welfare workers had visited the couple's home often but took no remedial action. Brown's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, 30, and her husband, Cesar Rodriguez, Nixzmary's stepfather - the man who struck the fatal blows - were convicted of manslaughter. Santiago is serving up to 43 years in prison and Rodriguez was sentenced to 31 years behind bars. With Mike McLaughlin wsherman@nydailynews.com
The New York Daily News by William Sherman - June 18, 2010
A tough-as-nails Brooklyn assistant district attorney who built her reputation prosecuting child abuse cases is being probed for abusing her interns, the Daily News has learned. District Attorney Charles Hynes has suspended Assistant District Attorney Ama Dwimoh amid allegations she constantly screamed at the intern lawyers - and threatened to fire them for little or no reason, sources said. Dwimoh, 46, who heads the elite crimes against children bureau, and prosecuted the notorious Nixzmary Brown murder case, was relieved of her duties for two weeks pending the internal investigation, the sources said. A spokesman for Hynes confirmed that Dwimoh "is the subject of an internal investigation." He would not elaborate. Dwimoh declined to comment outside her Brooklyn home. The 22-year veteran is expected back Monday even as the probe of her behavior continues. Sources said internal investigators will question all staffers in her bureau. The probe started when a group of interns took its complaints directly to Hynes, sources said. The young intern attorneys all come from private law firms, including some of the city's most prestigious partnerships. Under a special arrangement, they work full time for the 50-person crimes against children bureau. Their firms pay half their salaries and the DA's office pays the other half, sources said. After months of enduring Dwimoh's office rage, the interns decided they had had enough, the sources told The News. Dwimoh, a graduate of Georgetown Law School, has headed the bureau since it was founded in 1997. The bureau investigates and prosecutes all cases involving sex abuse of children under the age of 11 and physical abuse of children under the age of 17 in which the alleged perpetrator is a parent or guardian. It is the only bureau of its kind in the city. It also prosecutes those who kill children and has handled more than 76 of those cases. Dwimoh has said her passion for prosecuting child abuse cases stems from growing up with a friend who was abused by her stepfather. Two years ago, she prosecuted the couple who beat 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown to death after years of physically abusing her in a case that horrified the nation, in part because child welfare workers had visited the couple's home often but took no remedial action. Brown's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, 30, and her husband, Cesar Rodriguez, Nixzmary's stepfather - the man who struck the fatal blows - were convicted of manslaughter. Santiago is serving up to 43 years in prison and Rodriguez was sentenced to 31 years behind bars. With Mike McLaughlin wsherman@nydailynews.com
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6 comments:
It's nice to see something not covered up for a change. And I like that the story showed up in the newspaper.
Relax fellow blogger. For DA Charlie Call Me Joe to put this out to the media is a story in itself.
You don't suspend a senior assistant, a black female, no less, just because she hurt the feelings of a few interns.
Look for a bigger story because this is BS.
Charlie Joe is just getting ahead of it hoping whatever it really is will all go away.
There may well be :
A sexual harassment component.
A racial component.
A medical component in that the supervisor has taken ill.
On the face this is a internal personnel matter that shouldn't have been made public.
You should never believe what you read in the newspapers..the media LOVES to relay misinformation to the Public!!!
CHARLIE CALL ME JOE, took another hit in the Daily News editorial today.
It seems as though his senior assistant is dancing to his own drummer when dealing with witnesses.
It is the same senior assistant that caused the investigation of the two Brooklyn detectives to be prosecuted and convicted for murder. IMO, and after studying all of the facts of that case, those detectives did NOT commit the crimes they were convicted of.
While they have been fast and loose with the rules, these crimes they were convicted of make no sense whatsoever. I think there is more than enough evidence to support that opinion.
I would hold off on this one,
first this women lives with the knowledge of what the lowest form of life does to children and knows how it affects them for the rest of their life's and who covers this crud up!
I wonder if there's a connection between the CPS scandal & this story ....of course the powers that be are scrambling to cover up, but stupping to blaming the kids for excess violence is just a smoke screen ...not to mention that if the officers in charge cant control then it goes back to bad mgmt. But the red flags are there if anyone is looking. Patterson seems to be getting an arm twisting too ...
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