DA hopeful pans Rollins platform
Maloney: Don’t ‘let the small stuff go’
Michael Maloney, running as an independent for Suffolk District Attorney, called his Democratic opponent’s list of 15 crimes she has vowed not to prosecute “egregious” and “over the top.”
“I really do believe in broken windows,” Maloney said. “If you let the small stuff go, then people are encouraged and unfortunately emboldened to conduct more nefarious behavior.”
Democratic opponent Rachael Rollins’ campaign website displays a list of crimes she has promised not to prosecute, including resisting arrest, drug dealing, and larceny under $250.
“Every one of the 15 I think is crazy. The fact that she said they’re not going to prosecute resisting arrest, that was the one where my jaw hit the floor,” Maloney said during a meeting yesterday with the Boston Herald editorial board.
Maloney argued that law enforcement should be included in that decision, and although the district attorney’s office and law enforcement are two separate entities, the two have to work “in harmony” and “have each other’s backs.”
“To make that kind of statement without involving law enforcement, without involving the men and women that are actually going to be put in harm’s way, that, again, it screams of someone that has never done this for a living,” Maloney said. “That screams of someone that’s actually never had a jury trial.”
Similarly, Maloney argued that refusing to prosecute drug dealers would put law enforcement in a “horrible position” and, additionally, would have a negative impact on the opioid crisis.
Rollin’s office did not return requests for comment.
A self-described moderate, Maloney has 10 years of experience of practicing criminal law as a defense attorney and has owned numerous businesses, which informs his concern around refusing to prosecute larceny under $250.
“I’m a small-business owner, I’ve been a midsized business owner and I’ve experienced theft,” Maloney said. “To say that you’re not going to prosecute, that is ludicrous. If you don’t hold an individual accountable then how could you possibly expect that the pattern won’t replicate or the pattern won’t become magnified.”
He stressed that not every case of shoplifting would warrant incarceration, and that he supports criminal justice reform.
“People that make a mistake should be held accountable, but based on the circumstances they shouldn’t pay what you would equate to a life sentence,” he said.
Maloney has been scrutinized related to scandal surrounding his divorce, a subject of which he said he’s “an open book.”
“I made mistakes,” Maloney said. “I was heartbroken. … I tried to own what I did and move past it.”