District Attorney Hoovler Announces New Criminal Investigator to Join Digital Forensics Unit
Andrew Stack was Long-Time New York State Police Digital Forensic and Computer Crimes Investigator
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced the hiring of Andrew Stack as Criminal Investigator assigned to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Digital Forensics Unit (“DFU”). Mr. Stack enjoyed a long and storied career with the New York State Police with extensive experience with digital forensics and computer crimes investigations.
Mr. Stack recently retired after over twenty-three (23) years with the New York State Police. At the time of his retirement, Mr. Stack was a Senior Investigator in the Computer Crimes Unit, tasked with conducting and supervising criminal investigations with a particular focus on the collection and analysis of electronic evidence. Previous to that position, Mr. Stack held various investigative roles in the New York State Police, including five (5) years assigned to the Collision Reconstruction Unit, responding to the scenes of fatal motor vehicle crashes and forensically documenting the scene. Mr. Stack also has computer systems programming experience within and outside of law enforcement.
District Attorney Office Criminal Investigators are police officers who work to enhance cases for litigation and investigate crimes, sometimes independently, and sometimes in conjunction with other police agencies. They frequently respond and assist at homicide investigations and aid other law enforcement agencies with a diverse range of criminal investigations.
The DFU was created in 2023 and is still the only such unit in the State outside of New York City dedicated to searching forand analyzing digital evidence retrieved from devices such as cellular telephones, computers and vehicles that have been taken into evidence by police agencies throughout Orange County. The unit is patterned after similar units that exist in the Manhattan and Bronx County District Attorney’s Offices. In addition to searching devices already in evidence, the unit’s staff also use their extensive experience to aid other Orange County police agencies by assisting at crime scenes, conducting child exploitation investigations, and by conducting specialized video DVR extractions.
“The hiring of a universally respected subject-matter expert like Andy Stack reaffirms the commitment of the Office to the Digital Forensics Unit and the important work the Unit does every day,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “Not only are we adding necessary human resources, but also plan to upgrade the Unit with new and additional technology and specialized training. Recent appropriations from State grants for vital infrastructure upgrades will also aid county municipalities by leveraging technology and software to improve not only investigative capabilities, but also adequate records management and discovery processes. We have worked hard to reach and plan to remain at the forefront of 21st century law enforcement investigation and prosecution, so as to best serve the residents of Orange County.”