Interview: DA Frank Sedita

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Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney interviewed Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III about the trial of Dr. James Corasanti and a number of other issues.

Sedita in the interview, which aired on WGRZ’s Daybreak Sunday, said:

• He has no regrets about the way his office prosecuted the Corasanti case, which resulted in the doctor’s acquittal on all felony charges related to the death of Alexandria Rice.
• His office’s track record of obtaining guilty pleas or convictions in 97 percent of felony cases shows the system works.
• A growing number of felony cases are settled through plea bargaining prior to trial. Only about 7 percent of felony cases go to trial.
• Violent crime ranks well down on the list of felony arrests prosecuted by the DA’s office. Vehicular felonies, most commonly involving repeat drunk drivers, account for 22 percent of cases, followed by drug possession, 15 percent.
• His office is seeing an uptick in the number of cases involving illegal possession of prescription drugs and financial exploitation of the elderly.

Interview highlights were broadcast on Daybreak Sunday and are posted above in a 4:20 slip. The complete 20-minute interview is posted below.