Alleges conflicts of interest in lawsuit seeking payout
James Randazzo and his law firm have represented Putnam County and its departments in dozens of federal cases.
That go-to status is one of the reasons Andrew Krivak and his attorneys are asking a federal judge to disqualify Randazzo, along with two other firms, as he pursues a multimillion-dollar payout from the county. Krivak spent 23 years in prison before being acquitted in a retrial on charges he killed a 12-year-old Carmel girl in 1994.
Portale Randazzo LLP represented Putnam and its district attorney and sheriff’s offices in the lawsuit that led to a $12 million settlement in 2020 with Krivak’s co-defendant, Anthony DiPippo, who also had his conviction overturned.
Randazzo also initially represented the same defendants in Krivak’s lawsuit, which was filed in August against the county; District Attorney Robert Tendy, three of his current and former prosecutors and a DA investigator; and six former Sheriff’s Office investigators. In addition, the lawsuit names former District Attorney Kevin Wright and former Sheriff Robert Thoubboron.
Krivak’s attorneys alleged potential conflicts in March and the county agreed. It responded in April by selecting Silverman & Associates as its attorney, with another firm, Morris Duffy Alonso & Faley, being assigned to represent the DA’s office.
But a motion filed by Krivak last month claims the changes do not cure the potential conflicts because Randazzo still represents multiple deputies who could provide incriminating statements against each other or the county, which has a “presumably lucrative attorney-client relationship” with the firm.
Krivak also argues that Silverman & Associates should be disqualified because it represented one of the officers, former sheriff’s investigator Patrick Castaldo, in a lawsuit filed by Alexandru Hossu after a jury acquitted him of raping a 12-year-old girl. Putnam settled the case in 2019 for $750,000.
Morris Duffy Alonso & Faley is accused of potentially representing “differing interests” while defending Tendy and the other prosecutors, according to court documents.
“While the change of counsel may have cured some of the representational conflicts of interest, it did not resolve the underlying adverse or differing interests among the defendants,” Krivak’s attorneys wrote in their motion.
Krivak accuses Putnam police and prosecutors of strong-arming witnesses, withholding evidence and other misconduct in prosecuting him and DiPippo for the rape and murder of Josette Wright, who disappeared in October 1994. A hunter discovered her remains in a wooded area of Patterson in November 1995.
Juries twice convicted DiPippo, but judges ordered new trials, with the final one ending with an acquittal. He received $2.9 million from the state. His settlement with Putnam cost the county $200,000, with the remainder covered by insurance.
A judge vacated Krivak’s 1997 conviction in 2019, and Tendy opted to pursue a new trial. A jury acquitted Krivak on Feb. 27, 2023, and the following month he filed a $150 million claim against Putnam County and one for $50 million under the state’s Unjust Conviction and Imprisonment Act.
In September, a judge approved a $5.7 million settlement between Krivak and the state.
