Councilman Sued For Bullying Autistic Aide Will Run For Brooklyn DA

DOWNTOWN, BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn City Councilman being sued for tormenting his autistic aide has announced he will run for the Brooklyn District Attorney position left vacant by the death of Kenneth Thompson.

City Councilman Vincent Gentile told Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Wednesday evening that he would join Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and seven other candidates in the race.

“As Brooklyn District Attorney, I want to think outside the box,” said Gentile, a Democrat who represents Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights.

Gentile is being sued by a former aide who has Asperger's Syndrome, Michael Bistreich.

He filed a $10 million lawsuit claiming that members of Gentile’s staff decapitated stuffed animals he kept on his desk, locked him in the basement and openly mocked him in meetings, according to the complaint.

He accused Gentile of laughing out loud when another staffer compared Bistreich to Avonte Oquendo — an autistic boy who was found dead after escaping his school through an unguarded door.

Bistreich remembered Gentile as the man who complained that his twitches — a common Asperger’s Syndrome symptom — “annoyed” the councilman who demanded Bistreich look into “upping” his medication, according to the complaint.

Gentile has served as City Councilman in Brooklyn for 14 years, as state senator and as an assistant district attorney in Queens and is the only candidate without close ties to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.

“I am the only candidate who can effectively apply objectivity, and without fear or favor, deliver justice for the residents of Brooklyn,” Gentile said in a statement.

As Brooklyn District Attorney, Gentile has promised to protect seniors combatting elder abuse, fight the city’s growing opioid epidemic and create job growth in poorer regions of the borough.

Gentile declined to comment on the particulars of the suit but came to the defense of his colleagues who were mentioned in it.

“The accomplishments of my staff are amazing, really speak for themselves, and that’s the bigger picture” said Gentile.

Bistreich declined to be interviewed but responded with a written comment on Facebook Messenger.

“I believe Mr. Gentile should focus on the ethical choice to make things right before seeking a position of high moral and legal integrity."

The position Gentile hopes to claim was left vacant in October 2016 when former District Attorney Thompson succumbed to cancer.

Image via Graham Morrison/Stringer/Getty Images