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Former U.S. Attorneys Honor NYC DA Morgenthau

By Andrew Ramonas

NEW YORK — Former U.S. Attorneys on Thursday paid tribute to former New York district attorney Robert Morgenthau, who stepped down last year after spending almost 35 years in office.

Robert Morgenthau (photo by Andrew Ramonas / Main Justice)

Former Southern District of New York U.S. Attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Otto Obermaier said Morgenthau was a role model to them. Morgenthau, 91, served as the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney during the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson administrations from 1961 to 1969 except for a brief period when he resigned in 1962 to stage an unsuccessful run for governor. He became district attorney in 1974, a post he held until 2009. He is now of counsel at law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York.

Giuliani, who was hired as an Assistant U.S. Attorney by Morgenthau, said the former prosecutor is a “legendary figure in law enforcement.”

“He will always be remembered as a staunch defender of the independence and integrity of the U.S. Attorney’s office, a tradition that carries on now in New York, that has spread all over the country, that he continued and enhanced in the district attorney’s office,” said Giuliani at a National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys event honoring Morgenthau.

Obermaier, who also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney under Morgenthau, said his time with the former prosecutor had “the greatest” impact on his professional life. He said a few of his colleagues in Morgenthau’s office became his law partners and one helped him become U.S. Attorney in 1989.

“Tonight, I am happy to publicly acknowledge my indebtedness to you,” Obermaier said.

Morgenthau said he was grateful for the tributes.

“The speakers show that I not only have good judgment in picking people to work as my partners, but also that I was extremely lucky,” he said.

Full post as published by Main Justice on October 09, 2010 (boomark / email).