Three former Manhattan federal prosecutors will lead a panel to examine how the New York City Police Department compiles data on crimes, police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly announced Wednesday.

David Kelley, who served as U.S. Attorney from 2003 to 2005; Sharon McCarthy, who served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1994 to 2006, and Robert Morvillo, who served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the 1970s, will lead the panel.

Kelley currently is a partner Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP. McCarthy, who is a partner at Kostelanetz & Fink LLP, worked in the office as the chief of the violent crimes unit and deputy chief of the criminal division. Morvillo, now a principal at Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer P.C., served as chief trial assistant in charge of the frauds unit and chief of the criminal division.

Recently, the NYPD has come under fire from critics who say the department has downgraded higher-level offenses, listing what should be felonies as misdemeanors instead. According to Kelly, the NYPD Quality Assurance Division has identified an annual misclassification rate of approximatley1.5 percent.

The Crime Reporting Review Committee over the next three to six months will examine the NYPD crime-reporting system and auditing functions, read documents about trends in crime misclassification, and assess the public dissemination of the data.

Democratic New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine turned up the heat on his Republican opponent, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, in a television spot that shows the ex-prosecutor stalking out of a House hearing on contracts he awarded as U.S. Attorney.

The attack ad highlights a contract worth up to $52 million that Christie gave to former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to monitor a medical device maker accused of offering kickbacks to doctors. The commercial also draws attention to a monitoring contract to David Kelley, a former U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, who had previously investigated Christie’s brother for stock fraud. Kelley had declined to bring an indictment.

“But when the time came for telling the truth, Christie got up and left,” the announcer said. “Chris Christie. Unbelievable.”

Christie is leading Corzine in the polls. The former U.S. Attorney has the support of 53 percent of likely voters, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll. The New Jersey governor has the backing of 41 percent of likely voters, the survey said.

Chris Christie, Republican nominee for New Jersey governor, will testify before the House Judiciary commercial and administrative law subcommittee tomorrow about deferred prosecution agreements he made while he was New Jersey U.S. Attorney.

An Associated Press rundown of the deals is here.