Nigel Farinha
Gang Unit Chief and Chief Diversity Officer
Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office
Nigel I. Farinha is the Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer and the Chairman of the Conviction Review Committee for Office of The Special Narcotics Prosecutor of the City of New York. He is also the Chief of Gang Prosecutions for this agency and a member of the Citywide Diversity Thought Leaders Working Group.
Mr. Farinha has been a New York County Assistant District Attorney for over twenty-five years. He is one of the founding members of the Narcotics Gang Unit, which is responsible for the prosecution of organized, violent street crime within the five boroughs of New York City. In the relatively short time that his unit has been in existence, Mr. Farinha has received several awards including the 2017 New York City Bar Association's Thomas E. Dewey Medal Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Office of the District Attorney, The International Narcotic Enforcement Officer's Annual Award of Honor, The Drug Enforcement Administration Certificate of Appreciation Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Drug Enforcement, The Office of Special Narcotics Annual Achievement Award for the Outstanding Assistant District Attorney of the Year, The St. Paul's Church Achievement Award for Outstanding Public Servant of the Year and The Hamilton Heights Block Association Annual Award for Outstanding Community Contribution.
In 2003 Mr. Farinha was promoted to the rank of Senior Trial Counsel, and in that capacity, he prosecuted several high profile cases including the trial of the "Nine Trey Gangsters" reportedly the very first Bloods Gang Sect to organize in New York City, and also the "Untouchables" a notorious "push-in" robbery crew. In 2007 he was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief of his division before assuming his current role of Chief of Gang Prosecutions in 2011. In 2016, Mr. Farinha served as lead trial counsel in two murder trials involving the Crips Gang Sect controlled by Epic Records rapper "Bobby Shmurde resulting in lengthy prison sentences for the most violent members of his crew.
Mr. Farinha has given several lectures on gang enforcement including to The Deputy Commissioner's Office of the NYPD, The National College of District Attorneys, The New York County Lawyers Association, The MAGLOCLEN Annual Violent Gang Conference, Kansas State Bar Association, The National Hispanic Prosecutors Association, and The National Black Prosecutors Association. He has served as a Faculty Assistant during the National College of District Attorney's Annual Career Prosecutor course in Charleston, South Carolina. He has also been a Trial Advisor for the District Attorney of New York's Trial Advocacy program for new Assistant District Attorneys, for over nine years.
Mr. Farinha was asked to serve on Police Commissioner Bratton's 2015 Reengineering Committee and tasked with the job of reorganizing the N)(PD's Gang Division. He also served on the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Task Force on Racial Justice and was recently tapped to serve as Secretary and Executive Board member for the NYSBA Criminal Justice Section. He also serves as Co-chair for the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York (DAASNY) Committee on Diversity & Inclusion.
He is the Past President and Executive Board member of the Local Chapter of the National Black Prosecutors Association. He is a founding member of the Citywide Diversity Thought Leaders Group. He is a member of the District Attorney of New York (DANY) Permanent Hiring Board, a founding mernber of the DANY Diversity Outreach Committee, a certified New York City EEOC counselor, a Program Director and Senior Advisor for the Justice Ambassador's Youth Council, A graduate of the Prosecution Leaders of Now Executive DA Training Course; a Board Member and Chairman of the Global Leadership and Achievement Foundation, and an active member of The Jersey City Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Mr. Farinha has been a prosecutor since 1996, but a lawyer since 1992. Prior to joining the New York County District Attorney's office, Mr. Farinha worked as an associate for two New Jersey law firms, Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith, Ravin and Davis, and Smith, Stratton, Weiss, Herr and Brennan. He is a graduate of Brown University and New York University School of Law.