#Former prosecutor accused of misconduct announces run for Manhattan DA

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Diana Florence and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
Steven Hirsch; Nata Dvir

A former top Manhattan prosecutor who resigned amid allegations she played hide-and-seek with key evidence in a major bribery case announced Monday that she’s joining the crowded race for Manhattan District Attorney.

Diana Florence, the ex-head of Manhattan’s Construction Fraud Task Force, quit Jan. 21 after it came to light she allegedly withheld a damning audio recording and other potentially exonerating material.

“I’ve spent my career fighting for people who never thought they’d win and that’s why I’m running for Manhattan District Attorney,” said Florence, who served as a prosecutor for  25 years before her untimely exit. “Public service is about putting people first, not powerful interests.”

In a jab at her ex-boss, Cyrus Vance Jr., she said, “I’m running for every New Yorker, who, for the past decade, has seen the DA’s office not as a place of opportunity but as an obstacle.”

Florence is the seventh contender to enter the race. The statement announcing her campaign, first reported by The City, touts her many successes at the helm of the Construction Fraud Task Force while making no mention of the accusation that cost her her job.

Her alleged failure to promptly turn over evidence led a judge to toss the bribery case against contractor Kyriacos Pierides — one of several defendants charged with illegally obtaining millions of dollars in city contracts.

Justice Michael Obus called Florence’s handling of the case “troubling and inadequate” and said the dismissal of charges was the “appropriate sanction.”

The trove of evidence that was allegedly turned over more than 18 months late included a 38-minute audio recording of ex-city staffer Ifeanyi “Manny” Madu telling officials he “broke no laws, that he did not take gifts, things of value or bribes from contractors.”

Madu later took a plea deal and agreed to cooperate, admitting he took cash and tickets to Broadway shows in exchange for feeding confidential information to Pierides and other construction executives.

Pierides’ lawyers said the recording was evidence of their client’s innocence.

Despite the troubling allegations against Florence, six labor unions — including New York State Ironworkers and Bricklayers Local 1 — are backing her bid, the announcement said.

“I did make a mistake,” she told The Post. “When I learned of it, I took responsibility for it. Accountability is one of the most important traits.”

The DA didn’t immediately return a request for comment on whether Florence’s actions had jeopardized other cases.

Prior to the scandal, the veteran prosecutor had scored significant courtroom victories.

She won convictions against a site supervisor and a major construction company for the death of Carlos Moncayo, a 22-year-old hardhat who was buried alive in 2015 when a trench he was working in collapsed.

Meanwhile, Vance, who has been DA since 2010, still hasn’t decided whether he’ll seek a fourth term in next year’s election, said campaign spokeswoman Anna Durrett.

“He’s focused on continuing to make New York City’s justice system fairer for all New Yorkers, but particularly those who have been historically impacted by our criminal justice system,” Durrett said in a statement.