2023 New York Laws › EXC - Executive › Article 5 - Department of Law › 70-A - Statewide Organized Crime Task Force.

§ 70-a. Statewide  organized  crime  task  force.  1.  There  shall be
established within the department of law  a  statewide  organized  crime
task force which, pursuant to the provisions of this section, shall have
the duty and power:
(a)  To  conduct  investigations  and  prosecutions of organized crime
activities carried on either between two or more counties of this  state
or between this state and another jurisdiction;
(b)  To  cooperate  with and assist district attorneys and other local
law enforcement officials in their efforts against organized crime.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the  governor  and  the
attorney  general  may,  and  without civil service examination, jointly
appoint and employ, fix his compensation,  and  at  pleasure  remove,  a
deputy attorney general in charge of the organized crime task force. The
attorney general may, and without civil service examination, appoint and
employ, and at pleasure remove, such assistant deputies, accountants and
other  persons  as  he deems necessary, determine their duties and, with
the approval of the governor, fix their compensation.  The  payments  of
salaries and compensation of such officers and employees shall be in the
same manner as is prescribed in subdivision eight of section sixty-three
of this chapter.
3.  The  deputy attorney general in charge of the organized crime task
force may request and shall receive from the division of  state  police,
the  state  department  of taxation and finance, the state department of
labor, the temporary state commission of investigation, and  from  every
department,  division,  board, bureau, commission or other agency of the
state,  or  of  any  political  subdivision  thereof,  cooperation   and
assistance  in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  Such deputy attorney
general may provide technical  and  other  assistance  to  any  district
attorney  or  other  local  law  enforcement  official  requesting  such
assistance in the investigation or prosecution of organized crime cases.
4. The deputy attorney general in charge of the organized  crime  task
force is empowered to conduct hearings at any place within the state, to
administer  oaths  or  affirmations,  subpoena  witnesses,  compel their
attendance, examine them under oath  or  affirmation,  and  require  the
production  of  any  books,  records, documents or other evidence he may
deem relevant or material to an investigation. He is empowered to  apply
for  search  warrants  pursuant  to  article  six  hundred ninety of the
criminal procedure law, and, except in exigent circumstances, shall give
prior notice of the application to the district attorney of  the  county
in  which  such  a warrant is to be executed, and in such circumstances,
shall give such notice as  soon  thereafter  as  practicable;  provided,
however, that the failure to give notice of a search warrant application
to  a  district  attorney shall not be a ground to suppress the evidence
seized in executing the warrant.   He  may  designate  an  assistant  to
exercise  any  such  powers.  Every witness attending before such deputy
attorney general or his assistant shall be examined  privately  and  the
particulars  of  such examination shall not be made public.  If a person
subpoenaed to attend upon such inquiry fails to obey the  command  of  a
subpoena  without  reasonable  cause,  or if a person in attendance upon
such inquiry shall, without reasonable cause, refuse to be sworn  or  to
be  examined or to answer a question or to produce a book or paper, when
ordered so to do by the officer conducting such  inquiry,  he  shall  be
guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
5.  Upon  the  application of the deputy attorney general in charge of
the organized crime task force, the supreme court or a  justice  thereof
may  impound  any  exhibit  marked  in  evidence  in any hearing held in
connection with an  investigation  conducted  by  such  deputy  attorney
general,  and  may order such exhibit to be retained by, or delivered to

and placed in the custody of,  such  deputy.  When  so  impounded,  such
exhibit  shall  not be taken from the custody of such deputy except upon
further order of the court or a justice  thereof  made  upon  five  days
notice to such deputy, or upon his application or with his consent.
6.  In  any hearing held in connection with an investigation conducted
by the deputy attorney general in charge of  the  organized  crime  task
force,  the  attorney general may confer immunity in accordance with the
provisions of section 50.20 of the  criminal  procedure  law,  but  only
after  affording the appropriate district attorney the opportunity to be
heard in respect to any objections which he may have to the granting  of
such immunity.
7. With the approval of the governor and with the approval or upon the
request  of  the  appropriate  district  attorney,  the  deputy attorney
general in charge of the organized crime  task  force,  or  one  of  his
assistants, may attend in person any term of the county court or supreme
court   having  appropriate  jurisdiction,  including  an  extraordinary
special or trial term  of  the  supreme  court  when  one  is  appointed
pursuant  to  section  one  hundred  forty-nine of the judiciary law, or
appear before the grand jury thereof, for the purpose  of  managing  and
conducting  in  such  court  or  before  such  jury a criminal action or
proceeding concerned with an offense where any conduct  constituting  or
requisite  to  the  completion of or in any other manner related to such
offense occurred either in two or more counties of this state,  or  both
within  and  outside  this  state.  In  such  case, such deputy attorney
general or his assistant so attending shall exercise all the powers  and
perform  all the duties in respect of such actions or proceedings, which
the district attorney would  otherwise  be  authorized  or  required  to
exercise  or perform. In any of such actions or proceedings the district
attorney shall only exercise such powers and perform such duties as  are
required of him by such deputy attorney general.