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Earlier this month, officials announced that they had reached a settlement with DiPippo, who was acquitted in 2016 after spending two decades behind bars.
The decision proved divisive, with Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy blasting the settlement in a scathing settlement, followed by County Executive MaryEllen Odell hitting back and saying that the move was in the best interest of taxpayers.
On Wednesday, Aug. 19, Putnam County Sheriff Robert Langley spoke out about the decision on the DiPippo settlement, specifically targeting Legislator Neal Sullivan.
“Legislator Sullivan alleged that a Putnam County Sheriff’s Department employee admitted to ‘having a policy at the Sheriff’s Department of not adhering to the requirement of turning over evidence which could have been helpful to the defense,’” Langley wrote in a statement.
Langley specified that what Sullivan was referencing to is known as the “Brady Rule.”
According to Langley, the “Brady Rule” is a pretrial discovery rule that requires the Prosecution to turn over to the defendant in a criminal case all exculpatory evidence in the possession of the Police and Prosecution.
“Let me be clear by stating that there is no such policy in the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department,” Langley said. “Since I took office in 2018 as Sheriff, my appointed Command Staff has been committed to reviewing and updating the existing policies and procedures of the Department.
“They are working alongside many other supervisors, investigators and deputies who all have been diligently ensuring that our updated policies and procedures conform to state and federal law and contain the best practices for law enforcement. By doing so we intend to minimize the risk of liability to our county.”
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