First Assistant District Attorney Perry Duckles

Perry Duckles has been an Assistant District Attorney for Monroe County since March of 2003. In 2016, Mr. Duckles accepted a position as First Assistant District Attorney. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Duckles served as Chief of the Major Felony Bureau and Chief of the DWI Bureau. He has served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Local Courts Bureau, the DWI Bureau, the County Court Bureau, and Major Felony Bureau. Mr. Duckles has served as the liaison to the Rochester Police Department for all gang prosecutions and has lectured at the Police Academy on a variety issues. He has also lectured at various continuing legal education programs for the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office and New York Prosecutors Training Institute. Perry graduated from the State University at Buffalo School of Law, and is a lifelong resident of Monroe County.

Second Assistant District Attorney Mark Monaghan

Mark Monaghan was hired as an Assistant District Attorney in 2002 by former District Attorney Howard Relin. Mr. Monaghan was appointed to the Second Assistant District Attorney in 2018 by District Attorney Sandra Doorley. He previously served as Chief of the Economic Crime Bureau from 2010-2018, a trial assistant in the Economic Crime Bureau from 2006-2010, the County Court Bureau from 2005-2006, the DWI Bureau from 2004-2005, the Domestic Violence Bureau in 2004 and the Local Courts Bureau from 2002-2004. Prior to serving as an Assistant District Attorney,  Mr. Monaghan worked for two years as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Rochester's Domestic Violence Program. He is a 1999 graduate of Indiana University's Maurer School of Law. In 1995, Mr. Monaghan received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from SUNY Geneseo where he majored in History and Political Science. He was born and raised in the Town of Greece.

Chief of the Major Felony Bureau Matthew Schwartz

After ten years as Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau, Matthew Schwartz accepted the position of Chief of the Major Felony Bureau in January 2022. He joined the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in February 2004, after serving as an Assistant District Attorney in the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office. Prior to his current position, Mr. Schwartz served as Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau, Deputy Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau and as an Assistant District Attorney in the Local Courts Bureau, the County Court Bureau, the Special Investigations Bureau, and the Major Felony Bureau. Mr. Schwartz is a graduate of Albany Law School (2001). He is admitted to practice law in New York and Massachusetts. Mr. Schwartz has also taught a variety of subjects for the New York State Prosecutors Training Institute (NYPTI).

Deputy Chief of the Major Felony Bureau Christopher Bokelman

Christopher Bokelman joined the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in May 2018, as a member of the Major Felony Bureau. He was appointed to the position of Deputy Chief of the Local Courts Bureau in January 2020 and accepted the role as Deputy Chief of the Major Felony Bureau in January 2022. Mr. Bokelman previously served as the Acting District Attorney of Wayne County in 2017, after being an Assistant District Attorney there for eleven years. A graduate of Purdue University and the Ohio State University College of Law, Mr. Bokelman has been a prosecutor since February 2000, beginning in the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office in Columbus, Ohio, where he worked until moving to New York.

Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau Robin Catalano

Robin Catalano joined the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in January 2007. In January 2012 she accepted the offer of District Attorney Sandra Doorley to become the Deputy Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau and became the Bureau Chief in January 2022. She has served as a trial prosecutor in the Local Courts Bureau, the County Court Bureau, and most recently in the Special Investigations Bureau as a Senior Assistant District Attorney. While assigned to the Special Investigations Bureau, Ms. Catalano has worked on countless drug and gun-related investigations, as well as several homicide prosecutions. Her work has involved close contact with members of law enforcement from all agencies in Monroe County, with a particular focus on assisting members of the Special Investigations Section of the Rochester Police Department and the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team. Ms. Catalano was born and raised in Rochester, New York. A graduate of the Aquinas Institute, Ms. Catalano then attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she received a Bachelor of Arts and a Juris Doctor. Ms. Catalano was engaged in private practice in Buffalo, New York, before returning home and joining the District Attorney’s Office.

Deputy Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau Jennifer Hyatt

Jennifer Hyatt, Deputy Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau, has been a member of the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office since 2008. Ms. Hyatt started as an Assistant District Attorney in the Local Court Bureau and worked in the Domestic Violence Bureau, Non-Violent Felony Bureau, Major Felony Bureau, and most recently, the Special Investigations Bureau.  In 2017, she began serving as the Swift, Certain and Fair program coordinator and is involved with in the Monroe County Gun Court initiative.  This role has Ms. Hyatt coordinating with prosecutors state wide through the GIVE (Gun Involved Violence Elimination) initiative and she as presented at the New York State Probation Officers Conference in relation to Monroe County’s Gun Court programs.  In 2022, she accepted the position of Deputy Chief of the Special Investigations Bureau.  Ms. Hyatt is a graduate of Carleton College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chemistry and graduated with her Juris Doctorate from the University at Buffalo School of Law in 2007 where she was a member of Law Review.  

Chief of the Grand Jury Bureau Michelle Crowley

Michelle Crowley returned to the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in 2012 after serving in the Ontario County District Attorney’s Office.  Crowley began her career as a prosecutor in Orange County where she was the head of the Domestic Violence Unit before moving to Monroe County in 2002, becoming one of the Major Felony Bureau’s top prosecutors. In her 15 year career, Ms. Crowley has prosecuted hundreds of violent felony cases, including homicides. Crowley, whose official title is Director of Attorney Training and Grand Jury, is responsible for ensuring that prosecutors working within the office comply with the continuing legal education requirement mandated by the State of New York for all practicing attorneys. In this role, Ms. Crowley works with Assistant District Attorneys both individually and in groups providing comprehensive and consistent training in an effort to leave them in the best position possible to obtain convictions and ensure the safety of the community. A native of Elmira, New York, Ms. Crowley performed her undergraduate studies at Ithaca College and completed her Juris Doctorate at the Albany School of Law.

Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau Patrick Gallagher

Pat Gallagher has been a member of the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office since 2011.  He has served in the Local Court Bureau, Domestic Violence Bureau, and Major Felony Bureau, before becoming Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau in 2021.  During his time as an Assistant District Attorney, Mr. Gallagher has successfully prosecuted multiple violent felony and homicide cases.  As Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau, Mr. Gallagher works closely with the Domestic Violence Community in Rochester, including Willow Domestic Violence Center and the Domestic Violence Consortium.  Mr. Gallagher received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester and his Juris Doctorate from Wake Forest School of Law. 

Chief of the Special Victims Unit Sara VanStrydonck

Sara VanStrydonck joined the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in September 2005. In January 2012 she accepted the position of Chief of the Child Abuse Bureau, part of the newly created Special Victims Trial Division. Prior to accepting this assignment, Ms. VanStrydonck had been a member of the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Bureau since 2007. During her tenure, Ms. VanStrydonck has come to specialize in cases involving the victims of child sexual abuse. Ms. VanStrydonck was born and raised in Rochester, NY. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from University of Buffalo Law School. Ms. VanStrydonck is active with the Bivona Child Advocacy Center.

Deputy Chief of the Special Victims Unit Michael Robertson

Michael Robertson joined the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in March 2012. In December 2022 he accepted the position of Deputy Chief of the Child Abuse Bureau, part of the Special Victims Trial Division. Prior to accepting this position, he has served in the Local Court Bureau, Domestic Violence Bureau, DWI Bureau, Child Abuse Bureau and Major Felony Bureau. Mr. Robertson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the SUNY Geneseo and his Juris Doctor from University at Buffalo Law School.

Chief of the DWI Bureau Raymond G. Benitez

Raymond Benitez has been a member of the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office since 2000. Throughout his dozen years as a prosecutor, Mr. Benitez has served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Local Courts Bureau, the DWI Bureau, and the Domestic Violence, Child Abuse & Elderly Victims Bureau. He has been Chief of the Gun and Project Exile Bureau and the Special Investigations Bureau. Mr. Benitez was chosen in January 2012 by District Attorney Sandra Doorley to be Chief of the Felony DWI Bureau because of his extensive experience as both a trial prosecutor and administrator. Mr. Benitez is locally raised and a product of McQuaid Jesuit High School. He holds a B.S. from SUNY at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Management and a J.D. from SUNY at Buffalo’s School of Law. Mr. Benitez is also a former police officer with the City of Rochester Police Department.

Chief of the Appeals Bureau Scott Myles

Scott Myles has been with the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office since 2010. Mr. Myles has served as a trial prosecutor in the local courts bureau, as well as in the non-violent felony bureau, where he prosecuted motor vehicle theft and insurance fraud cases. In 2015, Mr. Myles joined the Appeals bureau. Since that time he has defended the integrity of the office’s convictions in County Court, at the Appellate Division, and in New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. Mr. Myles graduated from the University of Missouri with a BA in Psychology, and received his JD from Washington University in St. Louis.

Special Counsel to the District Attorney Lisa Gray

Lisa Gray is a Senior Assistant District Attorney at the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office and was appointed Special Counsel to the District Attorney in January 2022. She was hired by Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley where she has served since 2012. She has been with the Appeals Bureau since January 2018 and before that, was assigned to the Special Investigations Bureau. Prior to joining Monroe County, Ms. Gray was an assistant district attorney in Queens County between 2005 and 2012, where she served in the Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau. Throughout her career, Ms. Gray has had the privilege to conduct multiple wiretap investigations as well as try felony level drug and gun cases in Supreme and County Court. In her role as an appellate attorney, she has argued many cases at the Appellate Division and has appeared twice in front of the New York State Court of Appeals. She majored in Political Science at the State University of New York at Albany where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995. She worked for many years as a paralegal in New York City before attending Albany Law School where she graduated cum laude in 2004. Ms. Gray was born and raised in the Town of Greece.

Chief of the General Felony Bureau

Michael Harrigan joined the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in April 2007.  In 2018 he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Major Felony Bureau.  Prior to his current position, Mr. Harrigan served as Deputy Chief of the Major Felony Bureau, Chief of the Economic Crime Bureau and as a trial prosecutor in Local Court, DWI, Economic Crime and Major Felony Bureaus.  Mr. Harrigan received his undergraduate degree from Capital University, his J.D. from Syracuse University and his LL.M. in Law and Government from American University.  He is licensed to practice law in New York and Nebraska.

Chief of the Economic Crime Bureau Michael Bezer

Michael Bezer has been a member of the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office since 2007. In 2018, he became the Chief of the Economic Crimes Bureau. Prior to his present assignment, Mr. Bezer has spent a majority of his career within the office split between the Major Felony Bureau and the Special Investigation Bureau prosecuting a vase array of violent felony and drug offenses.  Mr. Bezer graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Psychology before earning a Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University.

Chief of the Local Courts Bureau Elizabeth Buckley

Elizabeth Buckley has been an Assistant District Attorney for Monroe County since 2007. In January 2012, she accepted a position as Chief of the Sex Crimes Bureau, part of the newly created Special Victims Trial Division and was named the Chief of the Local Courts Bureau in January 2020. Her experience includes prosecuting cases in the Major Felony, County Court, Driving While Intoxicated, and Local Courts Bureaus. In addition, Ms. Buckley has lectured for the New York State Prosecutors Training Institute, Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, and is a volunteer speaker at local schools. Elizabeth was born and raised in Elmira, NY. She graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government. Elizabeth obtained a Juris Doctor Degree from Albany Law School in 2005. Before moving to Rochester, Elizabeth worked as a real estate attorney in Boston, Massachusetts. She is admitted to practice law in New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

Deputy Chief of the Local Courts Bureau Monica O'Brien