Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison recently joined with Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey, Minority Leader Jason Richberg, Legislator Sammy Gonzalez and Legislator Manny Esteban to announce two new administrative appointments in law enforcement focused on advancing public safety, police reform and crime-reduction strategies. County Executive Bellone announced the selection of Nelson Moya, Chief of the Palm Bay Police Department, to serve as Deputy County Executive for Probation and Juvenile Intervention, the first-ever Latino Immigrant to hold the leadership position. Moya, a 30-year law enforcement professional, will oversee the development of the region’s first specialized secure detention facility for youthful offenders while creating and expanding justice interventions and overseeing critical operations related to the County’s probation department.
Additionally, the County Executive announced Elizabeth Daitz, currently the Executive Director for Strategic Initiatives for the NYPD, will be appointed to serve as Assistant Commissioner of Police, and will join a newly installed leadership team under the direction of Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
“We are facing some of the toughest law enforcement challenges in modern times and we are committed to building a diverse and talented team of professionals to help address them,” said County Executive Steve Bellone. “I committed to Commissioner Harrison when he came on board that we would provide the support necessary to make Suffolk County a model for how you advance public safety with transparency and accountability. The appointment of both Moya and Daitz, law enforcement professionals with decades of experience, will allow us to continue to move policing and criminal justice in Suffolk forward.”
"I am excited about the leadership team we have assembled that brings together some of the best minds in law enforcement to help tackle the difficult challenges police departments are facing across the country," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison. "With their assistance, we have already made significant progress implementing the county's police reform plan, brought a renewed sense of urgency and transparency to the Gilgo Beach homicide investigation and, most importantly, we are aggressively driving down crime."
Incoming Assistant Commissioner of Police Elizabeth Daitz said: “I'm honored to join County Executive Bellone and Police Commissioner Harrison in serving the people of Suffolk County. Together, we will provide the most innovative, efficient, effective, and ethical law enforcement services in the nation."
Incoming Deputy County Executive Nelson Moya said: “I am honored to have been appointed to this position. I am grateful to County Executive Bellone and the rest of his executive staff for affording me with this exceptional opportunity. Having served in public safety for 31 years, I understand the importance of maximizing every aspect of our justice system in order to sustain a thriving community. This certainly encompasses our police and fire departments, our social services providers, our courts, our youth services providers, and our probation department.”
Under his role as Deputy County Executive, Nelson Moya will work closely with Thomas Branco, Acting Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Probation to improve criminal justice and probation services in Suffolk County by both enhancing existing programs and developing new, innovative strategies.
Nelson Moya, who is expected to join the County leadership team at the end of March, currently serves as the Chief of Police for the Palm Bay Police Department, in Palm Bay, Florida. Moya joined the Palm Bay Police Department in 1991, and rose through the ranks, serving as Sergeant, Lieutenant, District Captain, Commander, and Deputy Chief of Police, before being named Chief in 2019. Moya, who was born in Ecuador, was raised in Columbia until 9 years old, when he then immigrated to the U.S., before moving to Central Islip. Moya received his Bachelor of Science in Administration from Barry University, and is currently completing a Masters of Public Safety at the University of Virginia.
While with the Palm Bay Police Department, Moya oversaw a number of initiatives focused on juvenile deterrence. Programs included a youth services unit, which focused on mentoring and preventing crime by identifying those who could be at risk.
In her new role as Assistant Commissioner of Police for Information Management strategy, Elizabeth Daitz will work alongside Commissioner Harrison to design and facilitate an information management strategy for the Police Department in order to improve the quality of police services provided to Suffolk County communities. Daitz will work to foster collaboration across various County Departments, including Probation, Social Services, Labor, Health and Human Services, to address law enforcement concerns communities are facing and integrate crime fighting strategies within other parts of County government. She will assist in identifying strategies, opportunities, and new technologies to improve crime-reduction capabilities. Additionally, Daitz will also be part of the leadership team responsible for implementing the Suffolk County Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan.
Elizabeth Daitz, who is also expected to join the SCPD at the end of March, currently serves as the Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives for the NYPD. Daitz joined the NYPD in 2014, and prior to her current role, served as the Director for Civil Matters and the Executive Director of Civil Litigation. Additionally, in 2019, Daitz worked as a White House Fellow assigned to the Office of the White House Chief of Staff. During her time at the While House, she drafted and implemented the President’s Executive Order (EO) 13929 “Safe Policing for Safe Communities” and served as a subject matter expert on police use of force. Daitz has also held a number of various roles at the New York City Law Department, where she tried six federal civil rights cases and was lead counsel on a class action lawsuit. Daitz earned her Bachelor of Arts from Adelphi University Honors College, and her Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law.
Daitz joins a newly established leadership team, led by Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
Additional appointees include:
- Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Carter served as a senior executive with the NYPD with well-established partnerships with law enforcement executives throughout the world. During his decades long a career with the NYPD, he held the ranks of Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Inspector and Inspector and has extensive experience with organizational change management, crisis management, homeland security initiatives, risk and threat assessments, and intelligence gathering.
- Assistant Deputy Police Commissioner Kate Wagner began her career in the Bronx District Attorney’s office where she secured grand jury indictments in cases involving murder and attempted murder. Starting in October of 2003, she began a more than 18 year career in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office where she rose to the Position of Chief of the Special Narcotics Bureau and earned a reputation as one of the top investigative attorneys in this region and the state.
- Assistant Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Mauro served more than 13 years in the Manhattan DA’s office where he was Bureau Chief for the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York. In that role he supervised multi-jurisdictional long-term investigations targeting major international narcotics traffickers and money laundering organizations. As Bureau Chief for the Enhanced Prosecution Bureau in the Suffolk DA’s office, he worked directly with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to use intelligence and key data to target crime drivers in the County, and to identify and avert criminal activity.
- Federal and State Aid Coordinator Tom Kelly spent 26 years in the Nassau County Police Department where he was a duly sworn Federal Task Force Officer by the United States Treasury and conducted in depth financial investigations for crimes relating to money laundering, including both international and interstate narcotics cases. In 2013 he joined the SCDA’s office as a Financial Investigator and worked with HIDTA - the NY/NJ High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Financial Investigations Team conducting money laundering / fraud investigations.
- Chief Management Analyst Jimmy Watson served more than 28 years in the Nassau County Police Department where he supervised hundreds of gang arrests and investigations. As Commanding Officer of the Criminal Intelligence Rapid Response Team he supervised court ordered narcotics related criminal search warrants and oversaw 4,000 arrests in 3 years. Jimmy also served as Deputy Chief Investigator in the SCDA’s office where he supervised the Heroin Taskforce, served as Intelligence coordinator with Federal and State agencies and oversaw sensitive investigations in the Financial Crimes and Money Laundering Bureau and the Violent Felony Investigations Squad.
- SCPD Chief of Staff Greacia Herdsman has had a 30-year law enforcement career in the New York City Police Department with extensive experience in management, school safety operations and internal affairs investigations. With the NYPD, she spearheaded department-wide drug policy operations and has significant experience with emergency response, criminal investigations, juvenile intervention programs with the aim to reduce recidivism through educational, social services and criminal justice support efforts.
- Assistant Deputy Police Commissioner for Public Affairs Derek Poppe previously served as Deputy Director of Communications and Director of Communications, where he oversaw the communications and public messaging for the more than 15 different agencies and departments throughout Suffolk County government. He led the County’s public messaging response to the Covid-19 pandemic coordinating more than 120 consecutive daily media briefings providing critical information during this unprecedented crisis. In this role, he will oversee the Public Information Bureau in addition to developing and implementing an internal communications operation within the department, working with precinct commanders throughout the county to provide more localized information to residents on a precinct level to ensure seamless communication between precincts and the communities they serve.