March 02, 2009

Morgenthau '41 prepares to leave Manhattan DA post

Rumors had began to circulate late last week that Bob Morgenthau ‘41, the 89 year old district attorney in Manhattan would not seek a 10th term and retire on December 31. Those rumors have now been confirmed. Morgenthau was elected to the post in 1974, having already served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York for nine years.

New York Times writers Michael Powell, William K. Rashbaum and Benjamin Weiser all contribute to a fascinating retrospective article on Morgenthau’s career. There are also multimedia features you can access through the link. Although Morgenthau is in good overall health for an 89 year old, the article reads like an obituary, traveling through all periods of his life , starting with aristocratic roots, through his World War II service and through the highs and lows of his often revolutionary tenure in office.

While the article repeats oft-noted anecdotes about Morgenthau (the son of FDR’s treasury secretary, Morgenthau served drinks to Winston Churchill at his family home. Morgenthau also served as the inspiration for the the fictional Manhattan DA, Adam Schiff, on the television series Law & Order) it also notes the many changes Morgenthau made to the office, from attracting top talent and improving diversity in the ranks of assistant DAs to forming a formidable white-collar prosecution unit in the office, after he had also built a securities unit in his prior role as a federal prosecutor.

In a speech in 1969, his last year as United States attorney, Mr. Morgenthau explained why he pursued white-collar crime with such passion. His words resonate today.

“It is a deplorable fact,” he said, “that many businessmen tend to treat more sympathetically the banker guilty of tax fraud, the broker guilty of stock fraud or the accountant who certifies a false balance sheet than the poor man guilty of auto theft or hijacking of a truck.”

We wish Morgenthau the best in his final months in office and, hope that enjoys many healthy years of retirement!

Dave Nardolillo '98 | March 2, 2009 02:52 AM | Alumni

Comments
Post a comment




Remember Me?


Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.amerst.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/346