Robert Morgenthau’s departure might have got all the attention, but the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office last week lost another legend with an even longer tenure than the 90-year-old DA.
Ida Van Lindt, secretary to both Morgenthau and the late great Frank Hogan, is leaving after a remarkable 53-year career that began the day after she graduated from St. Joseph’s HS in Brooklyn.
Incoming District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. offered her a spot on his staff, but she decided to take up Morgenthau’s offer to become his personal assistant.
Her job as the chief gatekeeper to two of the country’s most storied DAs has given her a front-row seat to some of the most notorious cases in New York City, including subway vigilante Bernie Goetz, whom she told her boss she didn’t think should’ve been charged.
“I’m sorry to leave. The people here are the best, but I’ve been working for Mr. Morgenthau for 35 years,” said Van Lindt, 70.
Her career began on June 25, 1956. The then-17-year-old arrived by subway, dressed in a yellow party frock — “It was a beautiful dress but really wasn’t appropriate,” she recalls — with her overprotective Italian mama in tow.
“There was a security guard there, a Detective Wagner, I think his name was, George Wagner. She says to him, ‘Please take care of my daughter.’ I said, ‘Mom, how could you say that?’ ” Van Lindt recalled.
“Thank God he was the grandfatherly type.”
In the five decades that have passed, the elegant Van Lindt, who has since moved on to figure-flattering pants and high heels, has ruled the office with her inimitable manicured touch.
She almost left after her first year in the steno pool to attend college full time. But Hogan was in the market for a new secretary and persuaded her to take the job.
“How could you say no to a guy like that with those beautiful blue eyes?” Van Lindt said.
His death in 1974 devastated her.
Van Lindt — whose daughter, current husband and ex-husband have all worked as prosecutors in the office — knew Morgenthau slightly from his relationship with Hogan. She wasn’t sure he would keep her on.
But Morgenthau said he never hesitated in hiring her. “She’s unstoppable,” he said. “Whatever I do, I want her to be with me.”
Van Lindt is still upset her boss, whom she always refers to as Mr. Morgenthau, decided to step down. “I think he would’ve won,” she said. “This guy, it’s like he’s 20 years younger.”