Mayor de Blasio Appoints New Chair of The Business Integrity Commission

May 13, 2014

NEW YORK—Today Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the appointment of Dan Brownell as the chair of the Business Integrity Commission.

Brownell is a respected prosecutor and investigator with a career spanning the New York County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Office of the State Inspector General, and the New York City Department of Investigation. He will draw on his three decades in the field to lead the commission, which is charged with preventing organized crime and corruption in private carting businesses, public wholesale markets, and the shipboard gambling industry. He will ensure this important sector of the city’s economy operates fairly and efficiently for all New Yorkers.

“Dan Brownell is an exemplary prosecutor with a proven track record of fighting corruption and organized crime,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With a thorough understanding of the industries the commission oversees and years of experience protecting the public’s interest, he understands how to guarantee these vital New York City businesses operate with integrity.”

“I am honored by this appointment,” said incoming Chair of the Business Integrity Commission Dan Brownell. “I have dedicated my career to serving the people of New York City, and I look forward to drawing on everything I’ve learned as a prosecutor to make sure there is no place for corruption or crime in our city’s businesses.”

“For the past two years, Dan has served with distinction as head of my Office’s Rackets Bureau and Deputy Chief of the Investigation Division, overseeing cases ranging from the conviction of three individuals for terrorism crimes, to the prosecution of more than 100 defendants in a massive multi-million dollar social security fraud scheme. While we will be sad to see Dan leave our office, I know he will—as he has done for three decades—continue to do an exemplary job of serving the people of the city and state of New York,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr.

About Dan Brownell:

Brownell has spent the past 30 years as a prosecutor in New York City and New York State. He currently serves as the Chief of the Rackets Bureau and Deputy Chief of the Investigative Division of the New York County District Attorney’s Office, supervising a team of attorneys prosecuting organized crime, official corruption, construction fraud, and white-collar crimes.

Previously, Brownell investigated and prosecuted cases involving public corruption and government fraud as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Public Integrity Section of the Eastern District of New York. He has also served as a Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation, Chief Deputy Inspector General for New York City in the Office of the New York State Inspector General, and as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office.

A resident of Morningside Heights, Brownell is a graduate of the SUNY College of Environmental Science Forestry and SUNY Buffalo School of Law.