U.S. Justice Department to reimburse Rockland

After four years of delays, Hudson Valley police departments are finally receiving $10 million in drug forfeiture funds owed to them by the federal government. Congressman Lawler joined Senator Chuck Schumer, Rockland County Sheriff Lou Falco, and Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville for a press conference earlier this year in calling on the Department of Justice to release needed funds to local law enforcement. He also sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding the release of the funds.

The funds will be allocated to police departments and law enforcement agencies across the Hudson Valley, including $1.8 million for the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, $1.6 million for the Orangetown Police Department, $1.5 million for the Westchester County Police Department, and $1.3 million for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. These agencies and others comprised the DEA’s Westchester Tactical Diversion, providing staff and resources to help combat the scourge of drug trafficking in our communities.

“I am pleased that these Hudson Valley law enforcement agencies are finally receiving funds that the Department of Justice should have provided them in 2019,” said Congressman Lawler. “These local agencies dedicated thousands of hours and resources assisting with a historic takedown, but the DOJ had put them in a holding pattern.”

“I was proud to work across the aisle with Senator Schumer along with our Rockland and Putnam County Sheriffs to demand that Attorney General Garland and the Justice Department right this wrong,” Congressman Lawler continued. “These long-overdue funds will go a long way to assisting our law enforcement officers in their critical work, from protecting our neighborhoods to tackling the opioid crisis. I will always have the backs of these heroes and will never stop fighting for the funding they need and are owed.”