Charles Hynes, Former Brooklyn DA, Dies At 83

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Charles Hynes, the former District Attorney served the Brooklyn for almost 15 years, passed away Tuesday night in Florida. He was 83.

Hynes died among family in a Delray Beach hospice three years after he suffered a stroke and his health began to deteriorate, sources told the New York Post Wednesday morning.

“My heart goes out to the family of former Brooklyn District Attorney Charles ‘Joe’ Hynes," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. "Joe’s family is in our prayers.”

Hynes was Brooklyn District Attorney between 1990 and 2013, when he lost to the late Kenneth Thompson in in the Democratic Primary.

The former district attorney began his public service career as a Legal Aid Society attorney in 1963, joined the Brooklyn District Attorney's office in 1969, and was named Chief of the Rackets Bureau in 1971, according to his biography.

He garnered national attention in 1987 when prosecuted three men convicted of killing Michael Griffith during a brutal hate crime in Howard Beach.

During his tenure as Brooklyn District Attorney, Hynes created the ComALERT and GRASP, two programs which helped parolees and teenage girls returning from detention, and one of the nation's first domestic-violence bureaus.

The prosecutor won several awards including the “Minister of Justice Award” in 2005, the “Lawyer as Problem Solver" from the American Bar Association in 2008 and “The Hogan Award” from the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York in 2011.

He hailed from Flatbush.

“Mr. Hynes was a lifelong public servant who devoted his life to the borough he loved," stated District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. "My deepest condolences to his widow, Pat, his children and his grandchildren.”

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes attends the 6th annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House on January 16, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)