Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. was so unsure about finally bringing charges against Rod Covlin in the 2009 murder of his wife that he pulled the lead prosecutor out of the grand-jury room as she was presenting evidence in the cold case to question her about it, The Post has learned.
Enraged by Vance’s move, Assistant DA Ann Prunty quit on the spot and her boyfriend and fellow prosecutor, Dan Rather — son of the former CBS News anchor — considered resigning in solidarity, law-enforcement sources said.
Prunty was preparing to bring two witnesses before the grand jury probing the murder of Shele Danishefsky Covlin when Vance personally summoned her to his office on Oct. 23, sources said.
Prunty tried to beg off until she could present the witnesses’ testimony, but was told, “We need to talk to you right away about this case,” a source said.
During the meeting, Vance questioned whether the largely circumstantial evidence against Rod Covlin was strong enough and whether more investigation was needed, sources said.
Vance was particularly concerned about the strength of the case should a judge rule that prosecutors could not raise Covlin’s prior bad acts at trial, a source said.
Prunty stormed out and ignored his order to draft a memo for a follow-up meeting, sources said.
Instead, she went back to her office and wrote a resignation letter.
A spokeswoman for Vance declined to comment on the resignation, saying the office does not comment on personnel matters.
But at least one source rushed to Vance’s defense, saying, “There was never a dispute over the strength of the case — that’s not in question.”
Covlin, 42, was charged with murder on Nov. 1, two months shy of the Dec. 31 date on which he would have collected half of his wife’s $4 million estate.
When Rather learned about his girlfriend’s resignation, he went to the DA’s personnel office to find out how much his pension was worth, sources said. It was seen as a sign that Rather might quit.
“It’s no coincidence that she’s quitting and he starts asking about his benefits,” a source said.
Prunty, 56, and Rather, 55, have each been employed by the DA’s Office for about 30 years.
Prunty has worked on several big cases, including the failed prosecution of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. She and Rather have clashed with Vance since he took office in 2010, sources said.
One law-enforcement source said of Prunty’s resignation, “It’s a big deal to have a senior, experienced, responsible prosecutor walk out in the middle of a case.
“It seems like they were forcing her hand. If that was the case, then it reeks of arrogance.”
Rather declined to comment. Prunty has not been reachable. Vance, too, declined to comment.
Covlin, a backgammon-loving failed stockbroker, was charged with strangling Shele in her Upper West Side apartment.
He also plotted to kidnap his teenage daughter and marry her off in a bid to access her inheritance, a prosecutor charged at his Nov. 9 bail hearing.