Paul Gentile

Paul Thomas Gentile (born 1943) is an American lawyer and politician. After being assistant District Attorney, Gentile served as the Bronx County District Attorney in New York City from October 1987 to 1988. He was initially appointed to replace Mario Merola after Merola's unexpected death in 1987.

Early life Gentile was born and grew up in the Bronx. Gentile was also the first director of the Major Offense Bureau established by Mr. Merola in 1973, a task force office designed to prosecute career criminals and organized crime entities. In his statement, Cuomo cited Gentile's role in continuing the prosecution of the Bronx government officials involved in the Wedtech scandal, along with trusting Gentile continues to make "key tactical and strategic decisions" in existing investigations.

The Gentile campaign included high profile and widely publicized spats with New York City public officials. In a public dispute accusing former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of connection to organized crime and corruption, despite formerly endorsing him for the interim District Attorney seat, Giuliani criticized Gentile as a "McCarthy-like character" for leaking Federal Bureau of Investigation documents about Bronx prosecutor Philip Foglia. These documents claimed to connect Foglia to organized crime, and motivated Giuliani to request that Governor Mario Cuomo oust Gentile from office, a move ignored by Cuomo. Bronx Democratic Party leader George Friedman called Gentile "unelectable" at one point in his campaign, however, later clarified that he misspoke and formally endorsed Gentile for the nomination.