District Attorney Richard Brown gave fair warning last week that he is more than just a lawman in mufti. The 65-year-old D.A. proved it when minutes after giving a half-hour interview to The Queens Courier’s "Queens On The Air" program he and his driver arrested a suspected burglar near Queens Public Television’s studios on Kissena Blvd. in Flushing.
(The program featuring Brown will be aired on Channel 34 this Friday, June 19 at 8 p.m.)
Brown and his driver Detective James Draude sped to the scene of the crime on 77 Ave., Fresh Meadows. There surprised beat cops told the D.A. turned sleuth that a second man involved in a break-in at 150-49 77 Ave., had escaped.
The crime-busting D.A., armed with a description of the second man, gave chase and soon spotted such a man running. Draude jumped out of the car, chased the alleged perpetrator for a block and a half and then tackled him to the ground.
The suspected burglar was David Habibo, 18, who was brought in for questioning along with his partner, Danny Issac, 16.
Back at Brown’s office everyone agreed that the D.A. deserved the collar for catching his man.
An observer at the D.A.’s headquarters in the Criminal Courts Building said that Brown was surrounded by enthusiastic staff as he related the incident. There were even a few cheers heard.
The peripatetic District Attorney — widely known for his frequent appearances at crime scenes and at civic and political events in Queens — was the subject that day of an on-air profile on the series co-produced by The Queens Courier and QPTV.
Brown discussed the successful crackdown on drugs in southeastern Queens.
"Drugs still lie behind most crime in the borough," he said. "We have wonderful cooperation with all of the law enforcement agencies involved in this operation."
He said that organized crime is on the wane in the borough as authorities citywide have "sent the heads of these crime families in the city to long terms in prison."
He said his office has been particularly aggressive in prosecuting higher-level organized criminals under the Organized Crime Control Act (OCCA), the New York State counterpart of the federal RICO statute.
It permits the D.A. to deal with these groups on an enterprise-wide basis rather than pursuing isolated instances of criminal conduct.
Brown acknowledged that he operates in a world that others can only wonder about.
One case history from Brown’s files occurred in 1995. Eric Caraballo was talking to his brother, Marvin, and others when several people rushed into their bodega on 108 St. and announced a holdup. Everyone inside the store was herded into a rear storage area and ordered to lie down. At the conclusion of the robbery, the storage area was strafed with automatic weapons fire.
Eric Carabello, bleeding, turned to his brother and said, "They have killed us." Eric’s brother, as well as three other victims, died in that storage room or shortly thereafter.
The defendant, Amein Cain, was indicted, tried and convicted of four counts of murder in the second degree. Sentencing of the defendant, who faces more than 100 years in prison, is pending.
Brown observed that rape and domestic violence were also high on the D.A. Office’s list of priorities.
"We have a pioneering program in rape crisis counseling in cooperation with Mount Sinai Medical Center," he said. "Rape victims are much more willing now to work with us in bringing their attackers to justice."
Brown discussed two murder suspects who will face the death penalty. One defendant, George Davis Bell, was charged in 1997 with killing off duty Police Officer Charles Davis and Ira Epstein, the owner of a check cashing store, during at attempted robbery.
The second man is James Allen Gordon, charged in 1996 with killing three women during the commission of a host of felonies.
Brown insisted that he is an opponent of the death penalty, but pointed out that under the new law certain types of heinous crimes must be presented as capital cases.
"Historically I am opposed to the death penalty," he said. "These capital cases are investigated intensely in the field by assistant district attorneys from the Homicide Investigations Bureau and then presented to the Grand Jury by the same assistants.
Brown said that last year nearly 8,000 felony prosecutions alone were handled by the Trial Division and that an overall conviction rate of 88.5 percent and a trial conviction rate of 70 percent were achieved.
The D.A. had little to say about Mayor Giuliani’s crackdown on so-called "quality-of-life" issues and his latest target, food vendors.
Brown, a Democrat, also refused to comment on Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr’s attempt to build a case against President Clinton for alleged sexual misconduct with former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.
The District Attorney served in various important legal positions for the leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly and at the 1967 New York State Constitutional Convention and four years as New York City legislative representative in Albany where he managed the City’s Albany office and supervised its legislative program.
After serving as judge of the Criminal Court for just under two years, he was appointed the Supervising Judge of the Brooklyn Criminal Court and assumed full administrative responsibility for the court. In 1976, he was designated Acting Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
In 1977, he was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court of Queens. After a period as Counsel to former Governor Hugh L. Carey, he was designated by Carey as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division.
Governor Mario Cuomo appointed Brown in 1991 to serve as Queens District Attorney. He was elected to a full four-year term in the 1995 general election without opposition.
Brown and his wife, Rhoda, reside in Forest Hills. They have three children.
