The following is a list of characters from the CBS crime drama television series, CSI: NY. It follows New York criminalists (identified as "the Crime Scene Investigators") working for the New York Police Department (NYPD) as they use physical evidence to solve murders.
Contents
Main characters
1^Character first introduced during CSI: Miami episode 2.23 "MIA/NYC NonStop".
2^Also in CSI: Miami episode 4.07 "Felony Flight".
3^Also in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode 13.13 "In Vino Veritas".
Recurring characters
Crime lab
Dr. Leonard Giles (played by J. Grant Albrecht in season 1) is a technician in the Toxicology lab. He is a former runner now paralyzed from the waist down.
Jane Parsons (played by Sonya Walger in seasons 1–2) is a technician in the DNA lab.
Chad Willingham (played by Chad Lindberg in season 1) is a technician in the Ballistics lab.
Zack Shannon (played by David Julian Hirsh in season 2) is a tech in the Trace lab.
Kendall Novak (played by Bess Wohl in season 4) is a technician in the Trace lab. She has a close relationship with Adam Ross.
Haylen Becall (played by Sarah Carter in season 6) is a crime scene cleanup contractor. Despite budget cuts resulting in a hiring freeze, she obtained a New York State Police grant to get her hired as a part-time entry-level lab technician. Adam Ross is afraid she might ultimately replace him. The FBI does a background check on her and when she no longer appears, it is assumed that she was hired by them.
Dr. Evan Zao (played by Ron Yuan in season 2) was supposed to replace Dr. Sheldon Hawkes as Medical Examiner after Hawkes took field work as a CSI, but only appears in the first four episodes of season two. He reveals that during his teenage years, he bussed tables at debutante functions (2.03 "Zoo York").
Dr. Marty Pino (played by Jonah Lotan in seasons 2 & 5) appears as a night shift Medical Examiner in season two. He is known for wearing a Giants football jersey under his scrubs. In season five, it is disclosed that Pino became heavily involved in gambling and ran up significant debts and Dr. Sid Hammerback was forced to fire him after Pino was caught forging overtime slips. In episode 5.18 "Point of No Return," Pino's wife, Anabel, is found shot dead. The investigation leads to a drug scheme that Pino was running by creating heroin from the organs of dead drug addicts. In a hostage stand-off, Pino eventually surrenders after being talked down by Hawkes and Sid and is arrested for drug trafficking.
Police officers
Kaile Maka (played by Kelly Hu in seasons 1–2) is a homicide detective who accompanies the CSIs on some of their investigations. In her first appearance, Maka has just returned to duty after being shot in the arm, claiming that she "still sets off metal detectors" (1.11 "Tri-Borough").
Jessica Angell (played by Emmanuelle Vaugier in seasons 3–5) is an NYPD homicide detective and, in season five, girlfriend of Detective Don Flack. She is the third generation in a family of police officers, and the first female. Her badge Is #9521, it was her father's before it was hers. In the season five finale (5.25 "Pay Up") she is shot during a kidnapping and dies during surgery. Flack is badly shaken by her death, which leads to his breakdown in the next season.
Stanton Gerrard (played by Carmen Argenziano in seasons 3–4) is a tough, no-nonsense cop. At first he is a Captain and Flack's boss. Later he is promoted to Deputy Inspector and uses his position to occasionally interfere with and/or browbeat Mac and his team (3.19 "A Daze of Wine and Roaches" and 3.21 "Past Imperfect"). In episode 4.18 "Admissions", Gerrard shoots and kills a suspect who admitted to raping his 17-year-old daughter.
Brigham Sinclair (played by Mykelti Williamson in seasons 3–6) is the Chief of Detectives who first appears when he and Stanton Gerrard lead an internal investigation of Mac Taylor after Mac allegedly throws a serial killer, Clay Dobson, off the roof of a building (3.22 "Cold Reveal").
Jamie Lovato (played by Natalie Martinez in season 9) is a detective in the Homicide Squad. She transferred over from Narcotics when her cover was blown. She works, and flirts, with Flack. By midseason they begin a relationship.
Family and friends
Reed Garrett (played by Kyle Gallner in seasons 3–4 & 6) is the son of Claire Conrad Taylor, Mac's late wife. Claire had given birth to Reed when she was very young, and had given him up for adoption long before she met Mac. At first, Reed mistakenly believes that Stella Bonasera is Claire, having observed the close friendship between Mac and Stella. After he learns the truth, Reed is reluctant to connect with Mac, because Mac is not his biological father (308 "Consequences"). Still, Reed knows that Mac is the only link he has to knowing more about his mother. In episode 3.10 "Sweet 16", Mac visits Reed at his home for Thanksgiving, and gives him photos of Claire. Reed and Mac bond further during the events of episode 3.15 "Some Buried Bones", in which Reed's friend at college is murdered and Reed himself is assaulted. Reed also learns that the body of his mother has, to date, never been recovered from the World Trade Center site. During season four, Reed is shown to have become interested in journalism, putting him at odds with Mac while trying to follow a case concerning a serial killer who uses a taxicab as the murder weapon. He is shown getting unknowingly into the killer's cab at the end of episode 4.19 "Personal Foul", but the driver does not kill him and instead gives Reed information on the "Cabbie Killer" to post on his blog. In episode 4.20 "Taxi", he is kidnapped by the "Cabbie Killer", who wishes to use Reed to get his message across to the public. He is bound and gagged with duct tape and carried in the trunk of the taxi along with another victim. By leaving hints in his online blog, Mac and the team are able to rescue him. Reed returns in episode 6.17 "Pot of Gold", when he requests Mac's help in persuading a fellow net journalist to come forward with incriminating evidence pertaining to a gold fraud case. He is shown to be less aggressive in pursuing news due to his kidnapping by the Cabbie Killer and the psychological trauma he received.
Rikki Sandoval (played by Jacqueline Piñol in season 4) is Danny's neighbor. Danny actually is better acquainted with her son Ruben than Rikki herself, serving as a sort of big brother to Ruben. On the day that Danny takes Ruben to church to have his bicycle blessed they run afoul of a bodega robbery and Ruben is killed by accident (4.11 "Child's Play"). Looking to assuage his guilt, Danny begins an affair with Rikki, putting great stress on his relationship with Lindsay. Though Lindsay never mentions or implies that she knows of the affair, Danny believes that she does know. Rikki decides to leave New York for a fresh start, concurring with Danny that their fling had been a mistake (4.19 "Personal Foul").
Jordan Gates (played by Jessalyn Gilsig in season 4) is the New York City mayor's Criminal Justice Coordinator. Her funding helps to rebuild the lab after it is destroyed in a bomb explosion (3.24 "Snow Day"). She has had a good relationship with Mac ever since he helped keep her abusive ex-husband from stalking her. When her ex-husband hires an expert serial killer known only as "Suspect X" to kill Jordan, Mac and his team are able to stop her from succeeding (415 "DOA For A Day").
Notable villains
Sonny Sassone (played by Michael DeLuise in seasons 1–2) is the leader of a street gang called the Tanglewood Boys and is responsible for several murders. He comes across a Tanglewood poser named Paul Montenassi, beats him to death with a signed baseball bat, and sands off the fake Tanglewood tattoo so that Paul will not be tied to his gang. He is arrested by Mac and states that he will beat this murder rap (1.13 "Tanglewood"). He is not convicted. A year later he comes under investigation again after one of his accomplices confesses to where a body is buried. Danny's DNA is found on a cigarette near the body. Danny's brother, Louie, confronts Sonny about the murder while wearing a wire to exonerate his brother. Sonny beats Louie into a coma, unaware of the wire. The CSIs manage to finally nail Sonny for murder and attempted murder (2.20 "Run Silent, Run Deep").
D.J. Pratt (played by Chad Williams in season 2) is a painter who rapes women. Aiden is able to find DNA evidence against him for one victim, Regina Bowen, but at trial he is acquitted because Regina refuses to testify (2.01 "Summer in the City"). When he attacks her again, Aiden is fired by Mac for possibly tampering with evidence in his case (2.02 "Grand Murder at Central Station"). Later, Pratt rapes and kills Lilian Stanwick. Stella and Lindsay find Pratt's DNA along with another man's but can't prove the sex was forced so he walks again (2.18 "Live or Let Die"). He realizes he is being followed and sends his lawyer to the crime lab to get them to stop. This prompts Mac to look at old rape cases and finds out that there are five cases where there was no physical evidence or the DNA was too degraded but at least one of these cases is a match to Pratt's MO (2.22 "Stealing Home"). When Pratt realizes it is Aiden who is following him he decides to kill her. He steals a car, lures her out to a parking lot, kills her with his fists, and sets the car on fire in an attempt to destroy the evidence. Unfortunately for him, Aiden manages to leave behind enough evidence that is fire-proof for her former colleagues to convict Pratt of her murder (2.23 "Heroes").
Frankie Mala (played by Ed Quinn in season 2) is a sculptor and art collector, and Stella's one-time boyfriend. Stella finds out that Frankie has been taping them having sex and posting the footage online, so she ends the relationship (2.20 "Run Silent, Run Deep"). Frankie begins stalking Stella and later breaks into her apartment. He ties Stella up and plans to kill her, but she is able to escape and is forced to shoot him in self-defense (2.21 "All Access").
Notable guest stars
CSI: NY has cast a number of celebrity guest stars, including:
In 2009, guest star Ed Asner received an Emmy nomination for his role in episode 5.22, "Yahrzeit".