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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 267-04
October 12, 2004

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION OF LOCAL CONDITIONAL RELEASE COMMISSION CHAIR RAUL RUSSI

Daniel Richman Appointed as New Chair

Today, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the resignation of Raul Russi as Chair of the Local Conditional Release Commission.

“This afternoon, I met with the Chair of the Local Conditional Release Commission, Raul Russi, and accepted his resignation,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “In light of the Commission’s decision to grant the early release of former State Senator Guy Velella, Chairman Russi has decided that it was in the best interests of the City of New York to have new leadership at the Commission. Although DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn has not yet completed her investigation into this matter, there is no evidence to date that I am aware of that shows illegal conduct affected the Commission's decision.  I would like to thank Chairman Russi for his service and am pleased that he will stay on the City’s Board of Correction, a board to which I appointed him in March of this year.”

The Mayor also announced that Professor Daniel Richman will become the new Chair of the Local Conditional Release Commission, effective immediately.

“We are fortunate to have such a talented and distinguished New Yorker dedicating himself to the Local Conditional Release Commission,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “A tenured law professor and former federal prosecutor, Dan is a recognized expert on sentencing, incarceration, the constitutional rights of defendants, law enforcement and other criminal justice issues.”

“I am grateful to Mayor Bloomberg for this opportunity to be of service to the City, and for his confidence in me,” said Daniel Richman.  “I would like to thank DOI Commissioner
Rose Gill Hearn for her role in my appointment.  I greatly enjoyed working with Commissioner Gill Hearn at the U.S. Attorney's Office, and I look forward to doing so again as DOI continues its review of the Commission. I have long sought to advance the goals of procedural fairness and sentencing equity and I appreciate the chance to do so as chair of the Conditional Release Commission.  It will be an honor to once again serve the people of New York.”
 
Daniel Richman is currently a tenured professor of law at Fordham Law School where he teaches courses on criminal law and evidence.  He has also taught as a visiting professor of law at
Columbia Law School and the University of Virginia Law School.  In addition to his scholarship, Richman has worked as a federal prosecutor in New York from 1987-1992 where he rose to the position of Chief Appellate Attorney, and worked as an associate in private practice at the firm of Belknap, Webb & Tyler before that.  Additionally, Richman clerked for the Honorable Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court as well as the Honorable Wilfred Feinberg in the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  Richman’s academic credentials include a law degree from Yale University, graduate studies at Oxford University in England and attending undergraduate at Harvard University, where he graduated summa cum laude.

“Although I think this commission has outlived its useful purpose and would support legislation abolishing it, I am confident that Dan Richman will do an excellent job and exhibit the best possible judgment as he grapples with the difficult decisions in front of the commission,” concluded Mayor Bloomberg.







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