MTA appoints Kathryn Falasca as first female criminal defense attorney

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has appointed Kathryn Falasca as its first criminal defense attorney. As an experienced criminal defense attorney, Falasca will advocate for the interests of and provide support to crime victims in the system. She will also work with law enforcement, prosecutors, and community-based organizations to hold perpetrators accountable and help implement that through investigations and prosecutions of individuals who commit crimes against MTA customers and employees.

“Our riders say they want to be safe and feel safe, and it’s critical to keep repeat offenders – who disproportionately commit crimes on the subway – off transit,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber. “Katie Falasca is the right person with the right background to work with the justice system on behalf of riders and transit workers.”

Falasca most recently served as Director of the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Strategic Initiatives Bureau, where she provided policy recommendations and oversaw projects to improve law enforcement, while also working with city and state agencies, hospitals, and survivor groups to ensure that the NYPD’s investigative practices are victim-centered and informed by survivors’ trauma. Prior to the Strategic Initiatives Bureau, she served as Director and Special Advisor in the NYPD’s Department Advocate Office, where she oversaw several projects related to law enforcement service members who were crime survivors.

She began her career in public service as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office. During her tenure there, she prosecuted hundreds of misdemeanor and felony cases, specializing in domestic violence, rape, arson, murder, and other heightened-sensitivity cases. She has worked with the National Center for Victims of Crimes as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crimes.

Falasca received her Juris Doctor from Hofstra University, where she graduated with honors and was honored for outstanding public service. She is admitted to the New York State Bar and to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Her appointment as a criminal defense attorney will help the agency increase safety by holding offenders accountable and providing support to its drivers.

“My goal in this new role at the MTA is to serve as a mediator between the region’s public transit system and the region’s courts, and to advocate for transit employees and customers who have been victims of crime while on the job or commuting to work,” Falasca said. “Safety on the transit system is our top priority, and we work tirelessly to ensure that perpetrators of violence on our subways, buses and railroads are brought to justice.”