Manhattan DA Cy Vance’s top aide resigns in latest sign he won’t run for re-election in 2021

Stephen Rex Brown and Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News
·2 min read
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Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s top aide announced her resignation Friday in the latest sign that the three-term incumbent is unlikely to run for re-election in 2021.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who oversees a staff of more than 1,000 people, is leaving after more than 11 years in Vances’s office.

Agnifilo said she was taking a private sector job, but it was not clear where.

“As Chief of the Trial Division, Karen was instrumental in driving crime to historic lows across the borough by implementing data-driven approaches that allowed us to focus on the most serious crimes and bolster efforts to prevent crime,” Vance told his staff in a memo Friday

“As Chief Assistant D.A. since 2014, Karen has helped redefine the role of a prosecutor’s office in modernizing and reforming the criminal justice system, and reducing unnecessary incarceration.”

Agnifilo’s replacement will be Nitin Savur, who will take on the role of Chief Assistant District Attorney on Jan. 1, according to Vance’s memo.

“Karen will remain in the Office for a time to assist Nitin with a smooth and orderly transition, and serve as Special Advisor to the District Attorney,” the Manhattan DA’s memo says.

Agnifilo was forced to recuse herself from a number of high-profile criminals cases during her tenure at the Manhattan DA’s office due to her husband Marc Agnifilo’s work at the law firm of criminal defense lawyer Ben Brafman.

Most recently, she recused herself from the case of disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, who was represented by Brafman’s firm.

And in 2011, the chief ADA was forced to recuse herself from Vance’s case against prominent French politician and former International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was also represented by Brafman’s firm.

Vance is yet to announce whether he’ll run for a fourth-term in the 2021 race for Manhattan DA. His campaign raised just over $2,000 in the last filing period, state Board of Elections records show — far less than several of his potential opponents.

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