BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – Republican candidate for Broome County District Attorney Paul Battisti is accusing current D-A Mike Korchak of letting criminals walk because he fails to prosecute them.

Battisti said that the Broome County District Attorney Mike Korchak has dismissed more than 7,000 cases from 2020 to 2022.

Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar, Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham and representatives from local police departments joined Battisti at a news conference this morning to criticize Korchak’s record.

They said that members of law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to bring in criminals, and the DA’s office doesn’t finish the work that they have started.

Battisti said, “Mike Korchak has completely and utterly failed at keeping Broome County families safe. Victims are not getting justice, offenders are not being held accountable, and those that are broken, are not receiving the help that they so desperately need. Korchak’s excuses and distractions must stop.”

Battisti says he obtained statistics of Korchak’s time as D-A through the state’s FOIL law, but Korchak says he didn’t need to do that, and all of the information is free and accessible online.

Korchak says his opponent is once again putting politics over public safety by misleading the public.

“I’ve been a prosecutor for over 25 years and I’m looking out for the public. I work for the public, I don’t answer to politicians, and that’s what they’re afraid of. They want a district attorney that they can control, and as long as I’m the district attorney, they’re not gonna have that.”

Korchak said that Battisti is making accusations without understanding the inner workings of a DA’s office.

He says the high number of dismissals is because of the practice known as “dismissed in satisfaction.”

For example, if someone is indicted on ten charges, and pleads guilty to one of them and is sent to prison, the other nine charges are dismissed as part of a plea deal.

The Republican Primary Election for Broome County District Attorney will take place on June 27th.