Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson, whose office has the city’s worst felony-conviction rate, spent the bulk of his overtime dollars last year on interpreters and clerical workers — while the city’s other DAs paid most of their OT to investigators, an analysis of payroll data reveals.
The Bronx DA shelled out $813,407 in overtime last year but only one of the top 50 overtime earners was an investigator, according to the data.
That’s a far cry from the Brooklyn DA’s Office, where the top 27 overtime earners were all rackets detective investigators, or the Manhattan DA Office, where the top 25 overtime earners included 12 rackets bureau detectives.
While Johnson pays to keep his office running smoothly by doling out OT to typists, interpreters and other low-level office staff, crooks are getting away with murder: His office has the dubious distinction of convicting just 45.6 percent of violent felony defendants, according to state statistics for 2013.
That’s compared with a citywide average of 54.9 percent — led by Queens with 61.3 percent, and followed by Manhattan at 58.8 percent, Staten Island with 56.7 percent and Brooklyn with 55.8 percent.
Plus, the Bronx DA declines to prosecute 17.4 percent of all violent felony cases — more than double the citywide average of 7.7 percent.
The five offices paid out a combined $3.4 million in overtime last year.
That includes about $1 million in Manhattan, $832,000 in Brooklyn, $671,000 in Queens and $105,000 on Staten Island.
While the top OT earner in Brooklyn was a supervising rackets attorney and the top earner in Queens was a senior rackets investigator, the top overtime earner in The Bronx was interpreter Violeta Sambula, who pulled down $26,620 on top of her $60,000 salary.
Asked why the Bronx DA sinks so much money into overtime for employees with titles like community associate and community assistant, spokesman Steven Reed said those titles include Spanish interpreters and video technicians, who are often required around the clock at crime scenes or at police station houses to take statements.
Reed also said the NYPD does not provide typists to the Bronx DA’s complaint room, so the office must provide staff to screen cases, draft complaints, and arraign defendants — a “significant budget issue” that often includes overtime.
Additional reporting by Yoav Gonen