Bucks County District Attorney-elect Joe Khan on Thursday morning announced the senior leadership team for when he takes office in the new year.
The office’s leadership will include veteran prosecutor Kristin McElroy being promoted to first assistant district attorney, the office’s top non-elected official. Khan will be adding Brendan Flynn as chief of staff and chief deputy district attorney and Elizabeth Oquendo as chief of civil enforcement.
“Kristin, Brendan, and Elizabeth exude the energy, integrity, and professionalism that will be the hallmark of our workforce,” Khan said. “Judges, attorneys, and stakeholders across Bucks County trust and respect them because, simply put, they are the best of the best.”
McElroy currently serves as chief of the special victims unit in the office and has worked there since 2012. She serves on the office’s management committee.
Khan describes McElroy as someone who “knows that office in and out, has the respect of everyone” and calls her “exactly the person to step in the role of first assistant.”
“It’s a critical role that every district attorney needs to get right in order to be successful,” Khan said. “She is going to be one of the key people in making sure that all the good things that this office has been doing will continue, and she will make sure we not only do them well, but we build on the office’s success, and we take things to the next level at the same time.”
Flynn presently works as a litigator at Curtin and Heefner handling public sector, labor, and environmental matters while serving as a volunteer mentor in Bucks County’s Veterans’ Treatment Court. He previously served as a homicide prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
“Aside from Brendan’s considerable commitment to public service and his integrity, he has the chops as a prosecutor. He served in the homicide unit when he was in the Philadelphia DA’s office, and also as a civil attorney doing really high-stakes work in labor and environmental matters in the public sector,” Khan told this news organization.
Flynn co-chairs Khan’s Transition Committee and will continue guiding its work as the county’s new district attorney takes office next month.
Once working at the office, Flynn will supervise the appeals unit, special investigations unit, economic crime unit, and the office’s first-ever civil enforcement unit.
Oquendo will be joining the office after serving as a senior deputy attorney general in the Public Protection Division at the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. Her current job helps protect consumers from unfair health care practices.
Khan hired Oquendo when he served as county solicitor, and she quickly rose to become number two in the law department before joining the attorney general’s office.
“Elizabeth knows how to use the powers of the attorney general and district attorneys, and it’s incredible that she is going to come back to Bucks and help us build this unit,” Khan said.
Khan also announced other senior prosecutor assignments: Jovin Jose will serve as chief of the special victims init, Chris Rees will be chief of the special investigations unit, A.J. Garabedian will be chief of the economic crimes unit, and Ed Louka, the office’s current first assistant district attorney, will serve as chief office administrator.
Using the special investigations unit, Khan plans to focus on government corruption and misconduct, including cases involving police departments, municipal bodies, politicians, and school boards.
The appointments, according to Khan, a Democrat, reflect the former federal and Philadelphia prosecutor’s vision to move the office “into the 21st century” by using district attorney powers to enforce environmental, worker, and consumer protection laws through both criminal and civil enforcement.
For example, in home improvement contractor fraud cases where criminal prosecution standards cannot be met, the office will now examine whether civil enforcement under the Consumer Protection Act can provide justice for victims, Khan said of the civil enforcement section.
“Rather than spending our time coming to the conclusion that we can’t prosecute a case, we’re now going to be looking at those cases also with the lens of whether or not there’s another avenue that we can use to get justice for those victims, to get restitution for those folks who are out thousands of dollars,” Khan said.
In an interview Thursday, Khan said the office will remain laser focused on criminal cases as the county’s top law enforcement agency has been for years.
Khan explained that he believes the office will work more efficiently with existing resources by refocusing its mission. He doesn’t expect much turnover once he takes office.
Over recent weeks, Khan has been in the process of meeting with every attorney, support staffer, and county detective working in the office.
“These have been absolutely invigorating conversations,” Khan said. “I left each one even more excited about this job than I did before. And I know that a number of the folks that we had these conversations with felt the same way.”
Khan has met with outgoing Republican District Attorney Jennifer Schorn. She was a prosecutor in the office for more than a quarter century.
Below are biographies of the management committee, as provided by Khan’s transition team:
Kristin McElroy currently serves as the Chief of the Special Victims Unit in the Bucks County DA’s Office. Universally respected by fellow prosecutors across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, McElroy has been the recipient of the Soroptimist Women Helping Women Award and the Rosner Award for public service, professionalism, and integrity. She has served in the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office since 2012 and currently supervises the Special Victims Unit and serves on the office’s management committee. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from Seton Hall University, a Masters of Arts in International Educational Development from Columbia University, and a Juris Doctor from Temple University.
Brendan Flynn is a litigator at Curtin & Heefner, where he handles public sector, labor, and environmental matters and serves as a volunteer mentor in Bucks County’s Veterans’ Treatment Court. Prior to entering private practice, he served as a homicide prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Flynn co-chairs Khan’s Transition Committee and will continue to guide its work as Khan takes office next month. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Government from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude.
Elizabeth Oquendo is a Senior Deputy Attorney General in the Public Protection Division of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, where she protects consumers from unfair health care practices. She also serves as President of the Hispanic Bar Association, was recently elected to serve on the Methacton School Board and previously served as second-in-command of the Bucks County Law Department as Administrative Deputy County Solicitor. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Emory University and both a Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Temple University
