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The acquittal in 2016 came after DiPippo served two decades behind bars.
On Friday, Aug. 14, following the announcement of the multi-million dollar settlement, Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy issued a scathing statement condemning the decision.
“Had the Legislature, County Executive, and County Attorney bothered to take the time to look at this lawsuit carefully by conferring with my office, they would have realized that this lawsuit had no factual or legal basis and would ultimately fail,” Tendy said.
“It is a matter of public record that Mr. DiPippo was twice convicted by a jury of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl,” Tendy continued. “He was found not guilty after a third trial. This does not translate into giving him $12 million.”
This week, Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell responded to Tendy, saying she was “deeply disappointed in Tendy and the direction he took regarding the settlement of the DiPippo case.”
Odell called Tendy’s press release “a clearly an emotional response in a case where two prior District Attorneys obtained convictions, but he was unable to do so.
“Mr. Tendy does not alone own the grief for this horrific tragedy,” she wrote in a lengthy statement. “Many members of the county administration and the Legislature actually lived here in Carmel all, if not most, of our lives.
“We recall vividly the days and months following the discovery of the victims’ body, and we watched closely each time a trial was convened to ensure that justice was served for her, each time hoping that closure would be achieved for her and her family,” she continued.
According to Odell, the county made “the most advantageous decision possible to put this horrible tragedy behind us so that the community and the victims’ family can finally begin to heal.”
“Mr. Tendy is clearly taking a business decision as a personal affront to him and feels as though it is a comment on his shortcomings and inability to convict Mr. DiPippo,” Odell stated. “This couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“Rather, it was a decision that was made in an effort to ensure that the county taxpayers would not be liable for a significantly larger verdict after a trial took place in this case.”
Odell went on to dispute Tendy’s claims about the federal civil rights case that involved DiPippo, and said that he should stick to the business of the District Attorney’s Office, leaving “the federal litigation to those with greater expertise and knowledge of evidentiary standards.
According to Odell, the settlement was reviewed by the county’s insurer, insurance defense counsel, two separate insurance coverage counsels and a federal mediator, all of whom were intimately aware of the facts of this case and all of whom were independent third parties whose only interests in this matter were to vigorously defend the county.
She said each of those attorneys strongly recommended that the settlement be approved
“Mr. Tendy is correct in one sentence of his press release where he asserts that the settlement was about one thing: money,” Odell concluded. “The County Executive and the Legislature are collectively responsible for safeguarding the financial stability of the County government and for managing the county’s risk.
“Mr. Tendy’s job is to put criminals behind bars. Where Mr. Tendy failed to do his job effectively, he cannot then blame myself or the Legislature for doing ours.”
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