Cuomo watch: Special prosecutor needed

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's plan for a new agency to investigate alleged abuses at homes for the disabled includes a special prosecutor who could charge people in criminal cases. Asked why his proposed 400-employee Justice Center for People with Special Needs couldn't simply refer cases to district attorneys or the state attorney general, Cuomo replied that the cases required "a highly nuanced, discrete area of legal expertise."

"These are particularly difficult cases to make," the former attorney general said. "Given the circumstances . . . you have witnesses whose testimony could be questioned, the volume of these cases could become overwhelming . . . They're not taking anything away from the DAs, but this prosecutor will have attorneys, prosecutors and investigators who do just this."

-- Ted Phillips