Charles Hynes has been one of the most distinguished legal figures in New York City and State in recent decades and has served as Brooklyn District Attorney since 1990. On November 3, of this year, Hynes was re-elected to his sixth term.
Hynes began his career in public service in 1963 as an associate attorney for the Legal Aid Society. In 1969, he joined the Kings County District Attorney's Office as an Assistant District Attorney. In 1971, he was named Chief of the Rackets Bureau and in 1973, he was promoted to First Assistant District Attorney.
Hynes is a former Fire Commissioner for New York City, a Special State Prosecutor during the Mario Cuomo administration who achieved national prominence in leading the investigation into the infamous 1987 murder of Michael Griffith in Howard Beach, Queens. As the Special Prosecutor and Chief Trial Attorney in that case, Hynes led the investigation and prosecution which resulted in three homicide convictions.
He is a proud and life-long resident of Brooklyn, where he was born and raised in the Flatbush section. He met his wife, Patricia L. Pennisi, a registered nurse, while they were undergraduate students. He attended St. John's University while she was at Kings County Hospital.
