The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hired Tatro last week, and shortly after, Tatro's checkered past surfaced, including being arrested for violent crimes.
A Times Union article from 2011 states that then-25-year-old DyJuan "Dy" Tatro was the "triggerman for the notorious Original Gangsta Killas street gang has been sent to federal prison for more than six years." The report said Tatro was "already serving time for shooting two rival gang members in 2006."
Tatro purportedly boasted that he had made at least $12,000 a month dealing drugs and conspired to traffic more than 50 grams of crack cocaine.
While serving his time in prison for racketeering conspiracy, Tatro earned his bachelor's degree, which enabled him to make an appearance on the 2019 PBS documentary series "College Behind Bars." He was released from prison in 2017, and has since become an advocate of criminal justice reform and social justice.