New York Daily News

UNIONS: AX THE PARTY LOVIN’ BX. DA

- BY THOMAS TRACY

THE PARTY may be over.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, who is accused of running an office where prosecutor­s have sex while on duty and get hammered at margarita parties before stumbling to court, should be removed from office, an NYPD union head demanded Tuesday.

“The governor has to do a house-cleaning at the Bronx district attorney’s office,” Sergeants Benevolent Associatio­n President Ed Mullins said. “The police can’t work with this DA, and that speaks to her competency as a prosecutor.”

Mullins’ claims come as NYPD brass canceled a March breakfast meeting with Clark that was supposed to address police “bridging the gap in the Bronx community,” sources told the Daily News.

Several sergeants refused to attend, claiming Clark maliciousl­y prosecuted Sgt. Hugh Barry, according to Mullins. Barry was acquitted earlier this month of criminal charges in the shooting death of a schizophre­nic Bronx woman.

Precinct commanding officers also refused to attend because of the indictment of Bronx Capt. Naoki Yaguchi. The 13-year veteran was accused of official misconduct and obstructin­g government­al administra­tion after allegedly delaying a Breathalyz­er test for a Bronx detective involved in a two-car crash last April 22.

NYPD Captains Endowment Associatio­n President Roy Richter said the prosecutio­n of Yaguchi was “completely unwarrante­d.”

“(Clark’s) running the DA office like it was ‘The Hunger Games,’ ” Richter said. “You don’t know who she’s going to throw in the arena next.” A $15 million notice of claim by DA was filed Monday office employee Crystal Rivera after she was barred from seeing her boyfriend, NYPD Detective David Terrell, who has been accused of civil rights abuses. Rivera claims the DA’s office was full of swinging parties and prosecutor­ial misconduct, which only bolstered Richter’s suspicions about Clark. “I am not surprised,” he said. “I’m just very happy to hear the breakfast meeting was canceled.” Clark, 55, refused to comment Tuesday on Rivera’s legal maneuver, but she defended her prosecutor­s, calling them “dedicated, hardworkin­g public servants who tirelessly strive toward justice for our Bronx community.” “We handle some of the most difficult cases with fairness and the safety of the community foremost in mind,” Clark said in a statement. “My faith in the people of my office is unshakable. We will stay the course to serve the people of the Bronx by pursuing justice with integrity.”

A spokeswoma­n for the Bronx DA’s office said the breakfast was “postponed,” not canceled, and that “had nothing to do with the allegation­s made by (Rivera).”

“The breakfast scheduled for March 6 with patrol commanders from the Bronx was to discuss crime issues in the Bronx and criminal justice reforms. Clark had a similar gathering with Bronx police in 2016 when she took office,” the spokeswoma­n said.

Rivera, an 11-year employee with the district attorney’s office, said she witnessed prosecutor­s cheat on their husbands and wives, and boozed-up assistant district attorneys stumble to court. She’s said she has even seen the occasional brawl.

“People are having sex in the office,” Rivera, 44, told The News on Monday. “We used to have parties called ‘the narcotics parties’ where ADAs (would) have sexual relationsh­ips with officers and prosecutor­s. We’ve had incidents where ADAs are having sex with each other and they’re married.”

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