Brooklyn-based District Attorney Kenneth Thompson announced he has cancer Tuesday, according to New York Daily News.
“As a man of intense faith, I intend to fight and win the battle against this disease,” Thompson said in a statement.
Thompson didn’t specify the type of cancer he was diagnosed with, but he noted that Chief Assistant Eric Gonzalez would run the office during absences for treatment and recovery.
“I humbly seek your sincere prayers as I confront this challenge and respectfully ask that you honor my family’s need and wish for privacy during this time.”
Thompson, 50, has garnered praise for devoting substantial resources toward probing old, questionable cases during his three years on the job.
Thompson is credited with overturning 21 wrongful convictions after establishing one of the country’s largest units dedicated to investigating past cases. But he was also the subject of many controversial headlines, namely following the discovery that he was making taxpayers pick up the tab for his daily lunch and dinners.
Thompson admitted that he violated the city’s conflict rules by regularly submitting reimbursement forms for his meals. As a result, he was hit with a 15,000 fine.
Thompson’s prominence came in 2011 when he defended the hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, of sexually assaulting her. The charges were eventually dropped, but a civil suit was settled for undisclosed terms.
