BUFFALO, N.Y. - Frank Sedita says he's feeling a little bittersweet and conflicted this week as he prepares to get sworn in next week as a state supreme court judge.
Sedita has spent virtually his entire professional life, 27 years, in the Erie County D.A.'s office. After serving as the office's top homicide prosecutor, seven years ago he was elected to the first of two terms in office.
Scott Brown: "You've had a number of high profile cases, the Corasanti case would that be your most disappointing in that you didn't get a conviction for manslaughter in that case?"
Frank Sedita: "As district attorney, probably. I thought it was vehicular manslaughter and I thought definitely without question that he knowingly left the scene. A jury of 12 people disagreed with that and acquitted Dr. Corasanti of those charges. I remember sitting down with the Rice family, Alix's family, immediately after the verdict, I said 'I apologize, I said I'm sorry,' I said I thought we had a very good case. I feel terrible. I said I don't think justice was fully served today."
One notable aspect of Sedita's tenure has been the public apologies he's made to those who have been wrongly convicted.
That's something he did to Doug Paycon who was wrongfully convicted of a rape in the 1980s and who Sedita's office exonerated five years ago.
Scott Brown: "Why did you feel the need to do that?"
Frank Sedita: "I think that's the role of the district attorney. I think to apologize to the person in person is important for that person, to see the chief law enforcement officer of the county do that and it was covered on TV and I think it's important as a lesson to the public to see what a good prosecutor is all about."
Sedita has come under criticism from police for choosing not to prosecute some cases.
Just recently, the state Attorney General's office won a murder conviction against Michael Rodriguez in the cold case murder of his wife back in the 1970s. It's a case Sedita declined to to take up.
Scott Brown: "There's a feeling among police agencies in town that Sedita won't prosecute a case unless it's a slam dunk- fair criticism?"
Frank Sedita: "No, not at all. There is always a tension between police and prosecutors about the strength of a case. We do about 35,000 cases a year,multiply that be seven (years in office). They've been able to find two or three cases to criticize me about out of those kind of numbers? Again, the numbers that I would look at if you want to look at numbers is a 98 percent conviction rate and the exoneration of around 300 people. Do we get it right 100 percent of the time? I wish we did, but I think we come awful close."
Sedita has one year left in his term. He'd like his top assistant, Mke Flaherty to succeed him.
Governor Cuomo has the option to appoint someone to fill out the remainder of Sedita's term, but traditionally Cuomo has left such seats vacant. If that's the case, then Flaherty will complete the remainder of Sedita's term, Flaherty is already raising money for a campaign for next year.
It's widely believed that current State Supreme Court judge Tim Franczyk, a former assistant district attorney, will step down from the bench at some point next year to run for D.A.
Democratic party chairman Jeremy Zellner has told the Buffalo News that Franczyk "would make a great D.A." A spokesman for Zellner told 2 On Your Side that Zellner still feels that way, but says no decisions on an endorsement for D.A. has yet been made.
