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Etan Patz's Father Endorses Prosecutor for Staten Island District Attorney

By Nicholas Rizzi | June 5, 2015 3:23pm | Updated on June 8, 2015 8:51am
 Stan Patz endorsed Joan Illuzzi, the prosecutor in charge of his son's case, in the race for Staten Island District Attorney after her opponent criticized her handling of the case.
Stan Patz endorsed Joan Illuzzi, the prosecutor in charge of his son's case, in the race for Staten Island District Attorney after her opponent criticized her handling of the case.
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DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

STATEN ISLAND — Etan Patz's father has endorsed the prosecutor in the recent trial of his son's accused killer for Staten Island District Attorney.

His support for Joan Illuzzi came a week after her opponent criticized her handling of the case.

In an interview with the New York Times, Michael McMahon, the former congressman nominated by the Democrats to run for DA, attacked Illuzzi's record as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan.

“As I understand it, her recent litany of cases have not been successful,” Mr. McMahon told the Times. “In the [Dominique Strauss-Kahn] case, she publicly attacked the victim.”

"In the Patz case as well, I think you’ll see that you need the skills, but you also need the temperament and the judgment. That’s what the office requires."

On Friday Stanley Patz released a statement saying the family did not fault her for the jury not convicting Pedro Hernandez of his son's killing. The case ended in a mistrial.

"Joan convinced everyone in Etan Patz's extended family, despite previous beliefs, that Pedro Hernandez is guilty of kidnapping and murder," Patz said in a statement. 

"She persuaded 11 of the 12 jurors, alternate jurors and who knows how many in the assigned press corp. Sure, we were disappointed that the jury could not come to a unanimous decision. But, because of her efforts, we now know what happened to our child back on May 25th, 1979.

We are very grateful to Joan Illuzzi for her dedication to finding justice for our little boy. We fully and enthusiastically support this top prosecutor's quest to become the District Attorney of Staten Island."

Illuzzi served in the Manhattan DA's office for 27 years and was selected on June 1 by the Staten Island GOP to run in the race to replace Dan Donovan, who vacated the post after he was elected to Congress.

She'll face off against McMahon in an election in November, unless Gov. Andrew Cuomo sets a date for a special election.

Assistant District Attorney Daniel Masters was appointed interim DA after Donovan left.