By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CITY HALL — There's a new sheriff in town. And he even gets a badge.
Edgar A. Domenech will be taking over the reigns as the city's top civil law enforcement officer, the mayor announced Tuesday.
State law bestows many "unique" powers upon the sheriff, according to a spokesman for the mayor.
He may lay claim to all abandoned shipwrecks and must be invited to witness any public execution, according to the letter of the law.
In case of a resistance, the sheriff may "command all persons in his county" — "as many as he thinks proper, and with such arms as he directs" — to assist him in overcoming "the resisters, their aiders and abettors."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg had a little bit of fun while introducing his latest hire.
"It's true he does not ride on a horse, carry a six shooter and look for cattle rustlers, but as the city's chief civil law enforcement officer he really is vitally important to the safety and well-being of New Yorkers," Bloomberg said.
Domenech is the former deputy director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and currently serves as Special Agent in Charge of it's Field Division in Washington, D.C.
Back in 2008, Domenech reportedly challenged the ATF for demoting him for reporting mismanagement in the bureau, according to the Washington Post.
On a typical day, the sheriff’s office handles civil enforcement issues, as opposed to the criminal issues handled by the NYPD. This includes delivering summonses, seizing personal property, helping parents collect child support, and serving and enforcing evictions.
Domenech's appointment comes amid serious cut-backs at the Department of Finance, where the office is housed. The department is set to lose ten of its 118 deputy sheriffs, Finance Commissioner David Frankel said.
In the coming months, the office will also be taking a greater roll in collection efforts for overdue fines, he said.
Domenech will be replacing Sheriff Lindsay Eason, who announced his retirement late last month after eight years in office.
"I'm humbled by the opportunity and the title," Domenech, a Queens native, said after the appointment.
