State Inspector General Ellen N. Biben was appointed Friday by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to investigate problems at the Nassau County crime lab that forced the closure of the facility on Feb. 18. Ms. Biben will have the authority to “study, examine, investigate, review and make recommendations” for improving the practices of the lab, according to an executive order issued by the governor. However, although she will have subpoena power, Ms. Biben will not have the ability of a prosecutor to arrest or seek indictments for criminal offenses.
The designation of Ms. Biben, Mr. Cuomo’s special deputy for public integrity when he was state attorney general, came a day after Supreme Court Justice William C. Donnino rejected the District Attorney Kathleen Rice’s call for appointment of a special prosecutor. The judge suggested that only the governor, and not the court, could appoint a special prosecutor with the broad authority that Ms. Rice had sought for former state insurance superintendent Eric Dinallo to conduct (NYLJ, Feb. 25). Justice Donnino said the governor had the power under Executive Law §63(2) to designate the attorney general to undertake the probe.
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