Last Thursday, January 22, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney (R) was sworn in to begin a second, four-year term.
Tierney made his maiden voyage in politics in 2021, unseating then-D.A. Tim Sini (D-Mt. Sinai) in the red wave that also allowed Republicans to take control of the Suffolk County Legislature for the first time in nearly fifteen years. Tierney unseated the one-term Sini by a whopping eleven points – 55.46%-44.54%.
Within the first two years of his term, Tierney accomplished the near-unthinkable: promulgating a suspect in the Gilgo Beach murders, a serial killing spree that rocked Long Island from 1993 to 2011. To date, suspect Rex Heuermann, of Massapequa Park, has been charged with seven murders in the spree, including the original “Gilgo Four.”
Tierney and Suffolk’s prosecutorial arm have also made history by utilizing avant-garde mitochondrial DNA to tie Heuermann to the murders, one of the first cases in the nation and the first in New York to be based on such cutting-edge technology.
Apart from this landmark case, Tierney has also reorganized the Suffolk D.A.’s office to prosecute a laundry list of other crimes, such as environmental and animal abuse offenses. Paramount to his tenure, however, is his campaigning for criminal justice reform and awareness for substance abuse disorders amidst the national opioid scourge.
Unopposed, Tierney was re-elected in November carrying the Republican and Conservative lines, earning 154,459 votes county-wide.
Tierney was joined by his wife, Erica, and children at the Suffolk Community College campus in Brentwood to be sworn into office a second time. Fittingly, a benediction was given by Brother Gary, a retired principal of St. Anthony’s High School, Tierney’s alma mater.
Former Assistant D.A. Doug von Oiste, a long-time friend of Tierney, delivered opening remarks by acknowledging Tierney’s “hard work and great personal sacrifice” over the last four years. He said that Tierney’s proclivity to point out problems is accompanied by his ability to solve them, and “not with words,” but by serving as an “example.”
“Under Ray Tierney, the Suffolk D.A.’s office is the preeminent prosecutor’s office not only in the state, but in the nation,” said von Oiste. “The people of Suffolk County will be relying upon his hard work, his smarts, but most of all, they’ll be relying upon the thing that they saw in him originally, and that’s the character of the man.”
Von Oiste described Tierney as a “true gentleman, first and foremost.”
“He does not make a poor man conscious of his poverty, an obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity,” said von Oiste. “He is humbled when necessity compels him to humble another. He does not flatter wealth. He does not cringe before power. He does not boast of his own possessions or achievements. He speaks with frankness, but always with sincerity. His deed follows his word. He thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own.”
Tierney was then sworn into office by the Honorable Hector LaSalle (D), Presiding Judge of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department.
Tierney opened his inaugural address by pointing out the theme of his first address, “optimism.” Upon reflecting on his last election, the holidays, and the end of his first term, he opted for the theme “thankfulness.”
“Some of the things that we were able to accomplish I could not get done without their help and certainly without the help of our County as well,” said Tierney of federal, state, and local law enforcement.
Tierney then laid out his accomplishments to date and laid the groundwork for what another four years entails.
“Gilgo Beach is not our signature case; it is one case among many,” said Tierney. “We’ve taken that comprehensive approach and spun that off into our Cold Case Unit.” Since its establishment, that unit has been able to name suspects in crimes that had gone cold for over a decade.
“To be able to give closure to those families, it means the world to me and my team,” said Tierney.
The D.A. discussed reforming property crime prosecutions, resulting in the nabbing of a “comprehensive retail theft” ring that sent the perpetrators Upstate for “significant” periods of incarceration, and $3 million returned to the victims.
“When I first took office, I realized that there was this pernicious belief that law enforcement no longer cared about property crimes,” said Tierney. “Now, people in Suffolk County understand you can’t steal other people’s stuff. Retail theft is down significantly since I’ve taken office.”
Catalytic converter theft was one of the top headline-grabbing crimes plaguing Suffolk when Tierney was first elected, with over 1,200 in 2023, down to 550 in 2024, and just 158 in 2025.
With regards to dangerous street takeovers, Tierney thanked the County Legislature for their laws allowing for the forfeiture of these vehicles once suspects were apprehended. The cars were then destroyed so as to dissuade the organizers from monetizing the dangerous shows.
The Environmental Crimes Unit under Tierney has produced the Evergreen Initiative, resulting in better policing of the Pine Barrens – courtesy of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department – and the increase of penalties for illegal dumping.
“We’ve had a 773% increase in environmental crime cases under my administration. In the years prior, there were 93 environmental crimes cases,” said Tierney. “In the first three years of my administration, there have been 812 cases. It’s not about the talking; it’s about the doing.”
Of gang takedowns, Tierney said that eight have been done so far, with the arrest of 141 “drivers of violence.”
“These individuals are responsible for 55 total shootings, at least four murders, 12 armed robberies, 70 instances of possession of criminal possession of weapons,” said Tierney. “They stole 30 vehicles and they financed their activities through sex trafficking and narcotics trafficking. And we took them off the street because we work together.”
Shootings, before Tierney took office, had risen 95% in a four-year period. The County Legislature granted D.A. Tierney and company ShotSpotter legislation, resulting in a reduction of cases by 34%, a decrease of 91% in black male shooting deaths, and just one gang-related shooting fatality in the last two years.
“That is unheard of,” said Tierney. “We haven’t seen those numbers since the 1950s.”
With regard to overdose deaths and narcotics policy, Tierney said the objective has been to “go after the dealers who deal in death; those who sell deadly fentanyl and hold them responsible in court.” Tierney added, “it’s not only about prosecuting individuals; it’s also about counseling and advocacy.”
The push for Chelsea’s Law, named after Chelsea Murray, was effectively spearheaded by Tierney. He pledged that he will continue pushing for passage of that law.
“When I first got into office in 2022, we had 536 overdose deaths. That’s obscene,” said Tierney. “Last year, although the numbers are not completely in, it’s estimated that we’re going to have 211 overdose deaths this year. That’s still 211 deaths too many, but it also marks a 61% decrease in overdose deaths in Suffolk County.”
Of where these figures have left Suffolk, Tierney stated succinctly: “Suffolk County is the safest large county in New York State.” He mentioned the violent crime rate, which is counted per 100,000 of the population. For the Bronx, the rate is 1,265. For Queens, 554. Nassau County, which Tierney called a “very safe county” sits at 162.5 – a “phenomenal” figure, according to Tierney.
But for Suffolk, the rate sits at 91.8.
“It not only makes us the safest large county in New York State, but one of, if not the safest county in America,” said Tierney. “It’s because of the incredible team I’ve been given.”
Tierney reiterated his support for local and federal law enforcement partners, but also his assistant D.A.’s.
“Simply put, no one has better assistant district attorneys (ADAs) than Suffolk County,” said Tierney. “It trickles down to our bureau chiefs, supervisors, line assistants, clerical staff, discovery expediters, analysts, and victim witness advocates. They attack their jobs with enthusiasm and passion. And we have a lot of challenges in law enforcement, with discovery reform, with bail reform. Individually, we are weak. But together, we are strong, and we are getting the job done.”
Tierney added that while success was not unexpected, the “breadth” of his department’s success over the last four years has been.
“To my ADAs: get ready, because the first four years were good,” said Tierney in conclusion. “The next four years are going to be even better. We’ve got cases; we’ve got work to do. We’re going to continue working together. We’re going to continue to build our cases to make sure we’re acting fair and to do everything we can to protect the citizens of Suffolk County.”
