Westchester County D.A. Race: North Castle’s Scarpino Makes a Bid for Coveted Post
Running for Westchester County district attorney had intrigued Anthony Scarpino for some time but there never was a chance to pursue the office.
For 12 years, beginning in 1993, Jeanine Pirro was a highly respected district attorney, immediately followed by Janet DiFiore.
That changed nearly a year ago when it was announced that DiFiore would become the state’s chief judge.
Scarpino, 65, a 20-year North Castle resident, had heard the scuttlebutt and prepared himself to step down from the Westchester Surrogate Court bench in anticipation of his candidacy. He is currently a partner at the law firm of DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr in White Plains.
“One of the main reasons why I went into private practice, I believed there was potentially going to be a vacancy opening in the near future, that would allow me, to enable me, to run for the post,” said Scarpino, who appears on the Democratic, Conservative and Women’s Equality party lines. “I had a real opportunity to do it because I felt, and many people felt, I am a good candidate for it with my law enforcement background and my judicial background.”
A Syracuse University School of Law graduate, Scarpino has spent most of the past 30 years as a judge in different courts, starting as a city judge in his native Mount Vernon. He was elected to county court in 1988 and to the state Supreme Court in 1993. Scarpino served as Westchester’s lone Surrogate Court judge for 15 years, starting in 2000.
He was an FBI agent for four years before his tenure as a Mount Vernon city judge.
Despite the criticism from his opponent, Republican Bruce Bendish, that he lacks prosecutorial experience, Scarpino counters that he is more qualified because the judge has the most complex job in court proceedings and is the senior member in the courtroom. He also stated that one of the state’s most revered district attorney’s, former Manhattan D.A. Robert Morganthau, had no assistant district attorney experience.
“I believe I have a 30-year head start over Mr. Bendish, who has been a criminal defense lawyer over the past 25 years,” Scarpino said. “He’s not really been involved.”
Scarpino said a full plate of issues await the next district attorney. Topping the list is the drug problem, most notably the heroin epidemic. Partnering with police agencies, law enforcement must aggressively pursue the dealers.
Meanwhile, Scarpino said there must also be a crackdown on prescription medication abuse along with educating the public on its dangers.
Scarpino said he is a supporter of rehabilitation efforts as opposed to jail time for those addicted to drugs. Adequately dealing with the drug problem would also help law enforcement tackle some of the gang violence and gun issues, he said.
He backs continuation of DiFiore’s policy to have little tolerance for DWI and DUI offenders who are operating “unguided missiles.” Scarpino disagrees with Bendish who wants to exercise greater discretion depending on circumstance.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to treat certain people differently than other people,” Scarpino said. “That concerns me when you don’t have a strict policy because you go on a case-by-case basis, we can’t be sure how each is being handled.”
Scarpino is a strong proponent for raising the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 for non-violent offenders. He supports the legislation that would bring more of those cases to Family Court and reduce incidents of incarceration so younger defendants aren’t indoctrinated into gangs or abused.
“That’s critical because we have to direct them to Family Court and take them out of the criminal justice system,” Scarpino said. “It advantageous for them.”
To prevent police from engaging in racial bias, Scarpino said there should be officer sensitivity training. Law enforcement must also gain a clear understanding why such a large percentage of suspects are minorities.
Putting new programs in place to protect the elderly would be an upgrade for the district attorney’s office, he said.
“I think a modern district attorney’s office needs a new vision, not one steeped in the traditions of the 1960s, with a broad vision of what justice is and how it should be administered,” Scarpino said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/