Nassau police fund to pay for lab retests

The Nassau Police Department will use a fund from crime proceeds to pay for the retesting of nearly 3,000 cases because of mistakes at the department's crime lab, county officials said Thursday.

"Police errors at the crime lab have put us in the position where we must retest evidence in order to ensure that the court system remains just," said District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who made the announcement with County Executive Edward Mangano. "Rather than sticking taxpayers with the bill for this retesting, however, I believe that the police should use forfeiture money to pay for its mistakes."

Police spokesman Det. Lt. Kevin Smith said the department "has been exploring that option and stands ready to engage the process."

Officials also gave, for the first time, a cost estimate for the retesting of between $400,000 and $500,000, said Mangano spokeswoman Katie Grilli-Robles. She added that there is "adequate forfeiture funding to cover the confirmation testing."

Smith would not say how much money is currently in those accounts and Rice has said it is unknown how long the retesting would take. The police asset forfeiture fund contains money from crime proceeds, such as the sale of seized property.

Rice announced Wednesday plans to retest all felony drug evidence collected over the past three years by the now-closed lab. She also wants a review of all blood-alcohol cases back to and including 2006.

The county police crime laboratory -- which until recently tested blood-alcohol content, ballistics, narcotics and fingerprints, among other things -- first came under fire in December when a national lab accreditation agency put the lab on probation, citing 26 violations.