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Former Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon (Oct. 5, 2005...

Former Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon (Oct. 5, 2005 ) Credit: Karen Wiles Stabile

Former Nassau District Attorney Denis Dillon, whose public service was defined by his drive to remove politics from prosecution and his sometimes provocative stands on moral issues, died Sunday at his home in Rockville Centre, a spokesman said. He was 76.

During 31 years in office, Dillon reformed plea bargaining to avoid unnecessary and costly trials, weeded out party politics from daily operations, and expanded the scope of his office to include social programs, former colleagues said.

But it was his unapologetic activism against abortion that elevated his profile in the public eye. A devout Catholic, Dillon marched in anti-abortion protests, drawing criticism for mixing politics with religious beliefs. The issue ultimately forced his switch from the Democratic Party to the Nassau GOP and in 1986, it prompted a losing bid for governor as the Right to Life candidate.

After serving one of the longest tenures statewide in a political office, Dillon suffered a stunning defeat to first-time candidate Kathleen Rice in 2005. He struggled with lymphoma from the early 1990s when he was diagnosed but finally succumbed to cancer.

His rise to top county prosecutor followed a stint as a New York City policeman and federal prosecutor. He was elected in 1974 on a platform of ridding the DA's office of political corruption.

 

Leaving party politics at the door

"He built an office that had a nationally known reputation for excellence," said Arthur Diamond, a close friend, former prosecutor and now a State Supreme Court justice. "He was incredibly tough on one hand, but he was also very interested in social justice."

Among Dillon's first acts was to weed out patronage from employment in the office, former colleagues said. "That was his greatest legacy - he changed the office to be nonpolitical," said Harvey Levinson, chief assistant from 1997 to 2002. "He didn't want a hint that anyone was getting an unfair advantage."

Beyond that, his program to restrict plea-bargain offers after grand jury indictments led to a sharp decline in trials, saving thousands of dollars in administrative costs and cutting the case backlog.

Retired prosecutor Patrick McCormack, a public defender at the time, was initially skeptical. "I thought it would never work," said McCormack, who later served as chief assistant DA from 2002 until 2006. "The felony screening concept got adopted in almost every metropolitan office in the state."

Dillon made decisions without regard to political winds or media hype, a factor that strengthened the office if it didn't always benefit Dillon's career, said Fred Klein, chief of the Major Offense Bureau from 1994 to 2006.

When, a decade after three men were convicted in the 1984 rape and killing of Theresa Fusco, DNA evidence arose that called the case into question, Dillon fully supported the investigation that led to acquittals. "He let the chips fall where they may," he said.

In one of many high-profile cases that included the conviction of LIRR gunman Colin Ferguson, Dillon extended a plea offer to 17-year-old Amy Fisher, who shot her lover's wife in 1992. He declined to press for certain charges against Joey Buttafuoco despite public pressure, Klein said. "He did what he thought was right regardless of media or politics," he said.

 

A penchant for helping others

Dillon, in later years, also pioneered initiatives aimed at deterring crime by instilling virtues in at-risk community members. His Rising Stars program used funds forfeited from criminal cases to support boxing classes and a summer camp for youth in Hempstead, among other things, said Assistant District Attorney Rene Fiechter.

Dillon also worked with county judicial leaders to establish a quality-of-life crimes court in Hempstead in the early 2000s, Fiechter said.

Sunday, Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said, "We didn't agree on much, but there is no question that he was a man of principle who believed in his heart that his advocacy would make other people's lives better. His service was never about him but about others, and he lived what he believed."

Following his electoral defeat in 2005, Dillon joined the Rockville Centre law practice of Michael DerGarabedian, who said Dillon continued to meet weekly with him and other colleagues until his death.

Dillon is survived by his wife, Anne, and daughters Barbara and Alice Marie.

A viewing is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Thomas A. Glynn and Son Funeral Home, 20 Lincoln Ave., Rockville Centre. A funeral Mass is planned for Thursday at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre, but the time is still to be set.

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