Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy recently announced that he will be seeking re-election in November to a third term in office.
“We have a great office with very dedicated employees,” he said. “It is a pleasure to work with all of them, and to serve the people of Putnam County. We have started so many initiatives, including the special victims, narcotics, and major financial crimes bureaus. We have outreach programs to seniors, teens, as well as the immigrant community. It has been very gratifying to see these programs take off and work so well.”
Under Tendy’s leadership, the office created its first written ethics policy, as well as its first conviction integrity review process.
“Most importantly, we have a great relationship with the law enforcement community – the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, local police departments, state troopers and various state and federal agencies,” he said. “It’s a real spirit of cooperation. They are the ones on the front lines, and we respect them tremendously.”
Tendy, a Republican, also noted that through asset forfeiture (assets seized as the product of criminal activity), the office has given more than $300,000 to various law enforcement agencies for computer equipment, tactical training equipment, safety vests, license plate readers and more.
“This saves the county and local taxpayers a lot of money and provides essential equipment to these agencies,” he said. “Asset forfeiture is a great crime-fighting tool, and we use it judiciously.”
Tendy also mentioned noteworthy prosecutions his office has handled.
“We convicted one defendant of stealing more than $100,000 from a senior citizen, one woman for defrauding New York State of more than $30,000 of social service funds, another for drug sale and weapons possession, and one defendant who killed his father and tried to cover it up, demanding a lengthy investigation, culminating in the arrest and conviction of the defendant,” he said.
“There have been so many other successful investigations and prosecutions,” continued Tendy. “Working collaboratively with other law enforcement agencies has been a very successful endeavor, and overall has improved the safety of the residents of Putnam County.”
Tendy said he’s looking forward to another term of working with his assistant district attorneys, support staff and all the various law enforcement agencies, “to continue to make Putnam County a safe place to live, work and raise a family. It’s been a wonderful experience,” he said. “I’m very grateful for all the hard work and professionalism that everyone in the office exhibits every day.”