Schuyler County District Attorney Joseph G. Fazzary was presented with the Frank S. Hogan Award from the District Attorney’s Association of the State of New York at the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel in Manhattan. The award was presented to DA Fazzary by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick at the winter conference for the District Attorney’s Association.
The “Hogan Award” is presented annually to an elected District Attorney who stands for “prosecuting the guilty without fear or favor; hiring non-partisan staff; requiring the highest ethical standards; and pursuing excellence in the practice of law.”
In handing out the highest prosecutorial award in the state, DA Fitzpatrick said, “This was an easy call. Joe has been the DA for a quarter of a century in Schuyler County. Nobody has done it better than him. He is a special prosecutor extraordinaire. I don’t know of anybody in my life who has worn the title of district attorney who is a more decent prosecutor and is a more decent human being than Joe Fazzary.”
In accepting the award, DA Fazzary told the crowd, which included district attorneys and assistant district attorneys from across the state, NYS Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas, and NYS Governor Kathy Hochul, that when he started, he was only part-time, had one part-time assistant district attorney, and his county didn’t provide the District Attorney with an office. He stated that he initially procured grant funding from New York State and with that money he built up the DA’s Office. He said this allowed him to not only try cases, but also to act as a special prosecutor for many surrounding counties, to teach prosecutors from all over the state at the New York Prosecutor’s Training Institute, to speak to victim advocate groups across the state, and to create a regional justice center for victims in Montour Falls. Fazzary said this award was an honor of a lifetime.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Hourihan was in New York City to see his boss receive this prestigious award. He had this to say about it, “For 30 years, Joe’s relentless pursuit of justice, and advocacy for victims, has been a model for prosecutors across New York State. I count my blessings that I have had the honor to work with him, and learn from him for the last four years, and know that Schuyler County is a safer place because of his hard work. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the Hogan Award.”
Fazzary started in the District Attorney’s Office in 1992 and was first elected DA in 1998 at the age of 29. He is a lifelong resident of Schuyler County where he resides with his wife Susan and their children, Isabella and Georgio. He is a graduate of Syracuse University and the Syracuse University College of Law. He has worked for Schuyler County for 31 years.
