Gov pardons 61, including B’klyn killer

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo gave a New Year’s gift of clemency to 61 people Wednesday, including a convicted murderer whose uncle is a television star.

While the bulk of Cuomo’s pardons went to nonviolent offenders — including many who now face immigration issues because of their past convictions — the governor also commuted the sentence of Dominic Dupont, a 39-year-old Brooklyn native who has served 20 years of a 25-year sentence for murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Dupont’s uncle is actor Michael K. Williams, who is perhaps best known for roles in the HBO shows “The Wire,” and “Boardwalk Empire.”

Administration officials (photo) decision was based on Dupont’s extensive work as a youth counselor at Green Haven Correctional Facility and had nothing to do with his famous uncle.

“He had the respect of everybody there,” Anthony Annucci, acting commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, told the Daily News about Dupont.

Annucci noted that it was Green Haven Superintendent Thomas Griffin who first recommended Dupont for clemency.

“In the time I have known him he has displayed personal growth and through his actions demonstrates positive leadership qualities and behavior for other inmates,” Griffin said in a statement.

Administration officials said the charges against Dupont stemmed from a fight between two groups of men and he was defending his twin brother.

Williams has spoken about his nephew in prior interviews. “If there were such a term as a model prisoner, he’d be the poster boy,” Williams told NPR in 2016.

Officials said Dupont’s actual release will likely be in late January. He’s expected to join his wife in Brooklyn and continue work as an at-risk youth counselor.

Also receiving a commuted sentence Wednesday was Michael Flournoy, 42, who has served 21 years for attempted murder and other charges. Cuomo cited his “strong record of rehabilitation and volunteer service” and noted that he has over time cultivated a deep friendship with his intended victim.

Of the pardons Cuomo granted Wednesday, 18 went to nonviolent offenders who’d already finished their sentences but are now faced with possible deportation.

Among them was 57-year-old Lorena Borjas, who was convicted of misdemeanor criminal facilitation in 1994 but has since become an advocate for transgender and immigrant communities. Her pardon request was backed by several elected officials, including Public Advocate Letitia James.

Cuomo also granted pardons to 39 New Yorkers who were convicted of non-violent crimes as teens. The pardons are intended to remove barriers to employment posed by the prior conviction. insisted Cuomo’s