Lawyers get report on Nassau lab failings

Nassau prosecutors have begun giving copies of a report that shows failings by the police department crime lab to defense attorneys in every case in which lab evidence was used, a spokesman for the district attorney's office confirmed Thursday.

The move is part of an effort by the district attorney's office to meet its legal obligation to give defendants any information that may be helpful in defending them, lawyers said. Chris Munzing, a spokesman for District Attorney Kathleen Rice, said he does not know how many copies of the 27-page report have been given to defense attorneys or how many current cases will be affected.

"The defense attorneys have a right to see the report so they can better protect their clients' rights," Munzing said. The DA's office began giving out the reports Wednesday during routine court appearances.

More than a week ago, a national lab accrediting agency informed the police department that its crime lab is on probation. It is the only one of nearly 400 accredited labs across the country to have that status.

The probation was triggered by a November inspection that found 25 failures of "essential" or "important" protocols.

Legal experts and prosecutors have said the report may lead to a surge of legal motions from defense attorneys who believe their clients were arrested based on faulty testing by the lab. Many attorneys say they will ask judges to dismiss current cases and set aside past convictions if they can show that the lab evidence used was not reliable.

Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey and County Executive Edward Mangano have announced several proposed fixes for the lab. They reassigned the lab's director, Det. Lt. James Granelle, and formed a committee of department heads and prosecutors to address the problems. They also put county medical examiner Pasquale Buffolino in charge of the lab's operations and hired an independent consultant, Peter Pizzola, to oversee its overhaul.

Defense attorney Joseph LoPiccolo said he was given a copy of the report Wednesday during a routine court date on a case in which his client is accused of shooting a gun. The crime lab had examined a shell casing that prosecutors say came from his client's gun, LoPiccolo said.

"I think it's important that they do this to make every attorney aware of a major problem in our county," LoPiccolo said.

Attorney Dana Grossblatt of Jericho said she, too, received a copy of the report Wednesday when she appeared in court to represent a client on a drug case. In that case the crime lab had not yet tested any evidence, she said.

"The D.A. has an obligation to let us know about any exculpatory material in the case," she said. "A lab that's been on suspension is exculpatory."