Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s promised probe of alleged anti-Semitism and other misconduct in his office has so far gone nowhere, The Post has learned.
Gonzalez announced to his staff in an Aug. 2 memo titled “Embracing Diversity” that he had asked the Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ Equity and Inclusion Office to investigate disturbing allegations of bias, bullying, and retaliation reported about his top aide, Maritza Ming.
“When these independent reviews are complete, I will take any action warranted by the findings,” Gonzalez declared.
But according to documents obtained this week, DCAS immediately rejected the request, saying it does not investigate “already adjudicated cases.”
In his Aug. 2 letter to DCAS, Gonzalez did not mention anti-Semitism. Ming allegedly trashed Jewish colleagues as “privileged,” and griped that certain bureaus had “too many Jews” in powerful positions.
He did not name Ming or detail any other complaints.
Instead, he asked DCAS to review whether the office’s investigation of allegations against an “executive staff member” was tainted by “at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
“DCAS regrettably declined our request,” DA spokesman Oren Yaniv said Friday. “We have now retained a prominent corporate investigations firm to conduct an independent review of the open and previously adjudicated EEO complaints. Their work is ongoing.”
Yaniv would not name the firm or say when it started.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez raised new alarms among staffers with his appointment of acting Equal Employment Opportunity officer Cynthia Aker. She is married to influential Brooklyn pastor Lawrence Aker III of the Cornerstone Baptist Church, frequently visited by Gonzalez.
The pastor, who served on Gonzalez’s Justice 2020 Launch Committee, has hosted gun buybacks for the DA’s office.
Known around the office as “the preacher’s wife,” insiders say, Aker worked in the personnel department before becoming the EEO coordinator, a clerical position.
One employee called Aker’s promotion “insane,” saying that she has “no qualifications for the job” — prior EEO Officers were lawyers – and is “conflicted” because of her husband’s support for Gonzalez.
“That kills all hopes of objectivity and fairness for anybody with a brain,” a veteran staffer said.
“She is only there because of her husband’s church,” another said.
Yaniv insisted, Aker is “highly qualified” and “will have no role in the independent review.”
Ming has been out on paid leave since July 31. Yaniv has refused to explain her absence.