Department Sites
Department Staff
The Office of the District Attorney maintains a staff of professional and experienced prosecutors and support personnel.
FIRST ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
Michael A. Coluzza, Esq.,
Dawn Catera Lupi, Esq.
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
Kurt D. Hameline, Esq.
Laurie Lisi, Esq.
Paul J. Hernon, Esq.
Matthew P. Worth, Esq.
Joseph A. Saba, Esq.
Grant J. Garramone, Esq.
Steven G. Cox, Esq.
Stacey L. Paolozzi. Esq.
Bernard L. Hyman, Jr., Esq.
Todd C. Carville, Esq.
Robert L. Bauer, Esq.
Michael R. Nolan, Esq.
Kurt D. Schultz, Esq.
Kara E. Wilson, Esq.
Joshua L. Bauer, Esq.
Christopher D. Hameline, Esq.
Patrick F. Scully, Esq.
Steven P. Feiner, Esq.
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATORS
James R. Helmer, Chief Investigator
Daniel R. Sullivan, Senior Confidential Investigator
Richard Ferrucci, Senior Confidential Investigator
Nicholas A. LoConte, Senior Confidential Investigator
David J. Cady, Senior Confidential Investigator
Keith C. Grogan, Senior Confidential Investigator
SUPPORT STAFF
Susan Engesser, Office Manager
Nicole LaBarbera, Victim-Witness Coordinator
Jennifer Bailey, Secretary to the District Attorney
Jennifer Dormio, Victim-Witness Coordinator
Deborah Gibbs, Principal Clerk
Michele M. Lockwood, Grand Jury Reporter
ONEIDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE BUREAU UNITS
Felony Unit: Laurie Lisi, Bureau Chief
Special Victims Unit: Dawn Catera Lupi, Bureau Chief
DWI Unit: Robert L. Bauer, Bureau Chief
Narcotics Unit: Grant J. Garramone, Bureau Chief
Appeals Unit: Steven G. Cox, Bureau Chief
Grand Jury Unit: Joseph A. Saba, Bureau Chief
Homicide Unit: Kurt D. Hameline, Bureau Chief
Investigation Unit: James R. Helmer, Bureau Chief
C.O.P.S Unit: Robert L. Bauer, Bureau Chief
Freedom of Information Law Contact: Matthew P. Worth, Esq.
Utica Drug Court: Stacey L. Paolozzi, Esq.
Child Advocacy Center
Drug Enforcement Task Force - Sgt. J. Chevrette - (315) 738-8341
The Special Victim's Bureau of the Oneida County District Attorney's Office is responsible for prosecuting cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault of adults and children, and serious physical abuse and homicides of children.
The Special Victim's bureau is comprised of three assistant district attorneys. As part of the prosecution of these matters the attorneys work closely with victim advocates, child protective workers and other members of the community who are involved in providing services to victims of domestic and sexual violence. This bureau of the district attorney's office is also closely involved with the Children's Advocacy Center, a multidisciplinary team, which investigates allegations of sexual and serious physical abuse of children under the age of seventeen.
The primary function of the DWI Bureau is to oversee the prosecution of felony drunk driving cases in Oneida County Courts. Members of the bureau also handle all alcohol related crashes resulting in death, or serious personal injury. The Bureau Chief is Robert L. Bauer.
Statistics complied by Oneida County's Stop-DWI Program show 1046 DWI arrests made by police in 2006 and in 2005 police made 963 DWI arrests.
The Narcotics Investigative Unit (NIU) is a unit within the office of the Oneida County District Attorney tasked with the responsibility of prosecuting cases involving the possession, sale, and distribution of narcotics and marijuana, the unlawful possession of firearms and explosives, gang related criminal activities, organized crime, vice and gambling related offenses.
The NIU is staffed by a Bureau Chief and two Assistant District Attorneys, Grant J. Garramone, Esq. is Bureau Chief of the NIU. Kurt D. Schultz, Esq. and Michael R. Nolan, Esq. are ADA's assigned to the unit. All three men are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist law enforcement officers with search warrants.
NIU attorney's review search warrants to be presented to the courts of this county, and document that probable cause exists for the application for the warrant and that the target location, person, vehicle, etc. is entered into a law enforcement database called Unified Drug Enforcement Coordination System (UDECS) to prevent infringing on other agencies' investigations, and to enhance officer safety.
The NIU also provides training on search and seizure issues as requested by the Mohawk Valley Police Academy and local law enforcement agencies. The NIU has also partnered with the Middle Atlantic Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network (MAGLOCLEN) to sponsor training to law enforcement officers in Oneida County.
NIU attorney's also participate in joint law enforcement efforts such as the ONDCP's Weed and Seed Program, the national Project Safe Neighborhoods firearms interdiction program (locally designated as Project FED-UP), and the New York State sponsored "Impact" program. The NIU is also responsible for the forfeiture of assets seized from those who profit from the sale and distribution of drugs.
The Oneida County District Attorney’s Office Grand Jury Bureau is tasked with scheduling, including subpoenaing of witnesses and pertinent documents, of all Felony cases that have been chosen for presentment to a Grand Jury of Oneida County. Further duties include filing a report of indicted cases to Oneida County Court. The Grand Jury Bureau consists of a Bureau Chief, two Court reporters and a Victim/Witness Coordinator.
The Investigation Unit of the District Attorney's Office is currently made up of five sworn police officers who investigate criminal cases throughout Oneida County. The main duties of the criminal investigator include locating witnesses and victims for the purpose of county court trials or grand jury action, participating in multi-agency operations such as wiretaps and search warrants, serving local and county arrest warrants and assisting local law enforcement agencies when necessary. In the normal course of business the criminal investigator conducts investigations and completes field interviews, takes statements from witnesses and victims and files charges and makes arrests when warranted. Members of the unit conduct Truth Verification examinations and are N.I.T.V. certified; also a member is assigned to Utica Drug Court as a warrant officer who locates participants who have absconded from the drug treatment program and returns them to the court.
The Community Outreach Prosecution Strategies Bureau, or COPS Bureau, focuses on crime reduction strategies within targeted communities in Oneida County. The Bureau is headed by ADA Robert L. Bauer and oversees Oneida County's Operation IMPACT Program and the Gang Intervention Task Force, among other grant-funded initiatives.
The COPS Bureau is presently overseeing the implementation of fixed-position cameras in high crime areas, installation of equipment for videotaping suspects' confessions, and Oneida County's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives Program. These projects are funded through state and federal grants, benefitting Oneida County without cost to taxpayers