Members of a special “independent” panel of retired judges, law professors, and lawyers appointed by Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes to probe 40 controversial convictions based on investigations by a tainted NYPD detective want off the panel now that Hynes has been voted out of office, The Post has learned.
“They’re looking for a way to bow out. I’m sure they would be happy to turn the files over to [DA-elect Ken] Thompson and say, ‘Good luck,’ ” said a source who has spoken to several members.
“Why would Thompson keep us? When I saw the election results, it struck me that we’re not an official body — there’s no reason to keep us,” said one panel member.
Hynes appointed the 12-member panel in July to review the convictions obtained by retired Detective Louis Scarcella — a move sparked by the DA’s office release of a man wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years after Scarcella allegedly coached a witness and failed to record many of his investigative steps.
The independence of the Hynes panel was quickly called into question when The Post reported in July that three members — including chairman Robert Keating — gave cash to Hynes’ re-election campaign.
“Several people on the committee have expressed to Keating that they want off, they don’t want to be on it under Thompson,” said a source.
A Thompson spokesman declined to comment for this story.
Scarcella has told The Post that the DA “threw him under the bus” and that he “never framed anyone in my life.“
“You have to be a low devil to frame someone,” he said, adding, “I sleep well at night.”