By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MUNICIPAL DISTRICT — Robert Morgenthau prosecuted about 3.5 million cases during his tenure, from small time robberies to high profile murders.
After "The Boss" traded One Hogan Place for a civilian semi-retirement, DNAinfo takes a glance at some of the outgoing District Attorney's memorable cases.
"All cases are important," Morgenthau told reporters last week. "There's no most important case and no least important case."
— Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing John Lennon on Dec. 11, 1981 against his attorney's recommendations. Chapman, who initially argued insanity, was charged with murder in the second degree after shooting the legendary musician who was leaving a recording session on the Upper West Side.
— The infamous Central Park jogger case is perhaps one of the darkest moments in Morgenthau's tenure. Five youths were wrongfully convicted for the 1989 rape of a woman jogging in Central Park. DNA evidence later exonerated them and Morgenthau recommended their release. "I'm sure I've had some disappointments," the 90-year-old prosecutor said this week at his last news conference.
— A popular case in New York's high crime era, the "subway vigilante" Bernhard Goetz was acquitted of murder charges in June 1987. Goetz was charged with shooting four people on a subway car in self defense, though Morgenthau's office fought for his conviction, arguing the force was unnecessary.
— One of Morgenthau's personal favorites was the 2000 conviction of mother-son murder team Sante and Kenneth Kimes. The victim, Irene Silverman, an elderly Upper East Side socialite, went missing and her body was not recovered at the time of trial, nor were there witnesses to testify. It was one of the first convictions of its kind.
— Among Morgenthau's corporate successes was the 2005 fraud and grand larceny conviction of former Tyco International Chief Executive Officer Dennis Kozlowski and ex-Chief Financial Officer, Mark Swartz. "This verdict is an endorsement of the principle of equal justice under the law," Mr. Morgenthau said, according to a June 18, 2005 New York Times article.
— A Manhattan jury convicted Anthony Marshall in September 2009, of stealing the fortune of Brooke Astor, his mother and a New York City icon and philanthropist. Marshall, 85, was sentenced to one to three years in prison for defrauding his mothers nearly $200 million estate.
