Manhattan District Attorney Morgenthau to retire

[emad]

Source: newsday

BY ANTHONY M. DESTEFANO AND ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
February 28, 2009

Legendary Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said goodbye to public service yesterday at age 89, opting to spend time with his family and tend to his upstate farm rather than run for a 10th term this year.

"Some people are slow learners and it took me a long time to realize I was getting older," Morgenthau said jokingly at a packed news conference. "I decided I wouldn't push my luck any further and quit while I was ahead."

Morgenthau prosecuted common street criminals, Wall Street crooks and banks suspected of facilitating money transfers for terrorists.

His retirement after 35 years will open one of the most coveted jobs in law enforcement at year's end.

Read more: http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/saturday/news/ny-nymorg286052675feb28,0,6367166.story

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I'd like to see seasoned mobster-busting prosecutor Patrick FitzGerald take up Bob Morgethau's mantle.

Reckon he's got the same slant on weeding out 'common street criminals, Wall Street crooks and banks suspected of facilitating money transfers for terrorists'.

Go Fitzie, go!

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. Interesting idea. I do believe Fitzgerald's a native NYer.

Might be a step down, professionally: US ATTY to local DA. Even if the "local" is Manhattan.

He'd also have to be elected. As a (nominal?) republican , that would be difficult.

[No Elephants]

2. A US attorney is not in charge of the Department. The DA is. So, it depends

on what you value in your work and how you look at it. Not to mention that, judging by Morgenthau, the DA seems to have great job security. U.S. Attorneys do not.

Here's hoping Mr. Morgenthau enjoys his retirement. That was a lot of service, especially when a NY law firm would have paid him maybe 20 times as much as NYC did.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. Not many people realize that he was the DEM nominee for GOV.

( Morgenthaou, BTW< not Fitz) In.... get ready.... *1962*. Against Rockefeller. Got creamed (because of $$$, I'm guessing).

But talk about longevity.

[No Elephants]

9. Not just $$. Nelson Rockefeller had

polish, charm, etc. Just general charisma. He made a lot of charitable contributions and so on. Politically, he was (I believe) liberal for a Republican, especially by today's standards. Not to mention, that he had name recognition that even Rockefeller's money couldn't buy. Er, well, you know what I mean.

[Smarmie Doofus]

13. I'd describe Rockefeller as *slick*.

Yes ... he'd have been run out of the GOP by now because they've gone so looney-tunes.

"His every word is a study in calculated artifice." I read that in eight grade ( '68?) when he was running yet again for President. Penned by LTTE writer to Newsweek or Time. Stuck with me 'cause it seemed so utterly true of Rocky.

Re. charitable contributions: Yeah yeah yeah... that's exactly what they say about Bloomberg. ( By "they", I mean folks Bloomberg pays to say it about him)

"Charitable contributions" = buying political support. Period.

[No Elephants]

16. You formed an opinion of Nelson by 8th grade and never changed it? Wow.

I guess one person's charming is another person's slick. It's all a matter of opinion.

And, he was very much a philanthropist. Whatever negative motives you wish to impute are also a matter of opinion.


As far as your quote...


"His every word is a study in calculated artifice."


Seems as though it could apply to almost EVERYone in public life, from show business celebrities to politicians. For that matter, many of Obama's critics, Democratic and Republican, say much the same about him.



Nelson was a friend of Kissinger, which I do find damning.

As to his politics (from his wiki), the Pubs would not only try to run him off today. They tried even then.

Liberal Republican
Main article: Rockefeller Republican
Rockefeller was opposed by conservatives in the GOP such as Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan because of his liberal stances on many issues.

As governor, Rockefeller took liberal stances on economic issues, spending more than his predecessors. Rockefeller expanded the state's infrastructure, took environmentalist stances, New Deal regulations of business, and Social Security. Unlike most conservatives, who were opposed to organized labor, Rockefeller collaborated with unions, especially the construction trades, which benefited from his extensive building programs.

In foreign affairs, Rockefeller was opposed to the more assertive policies of the conservatives and supported US involvement in the United Nations as well as US foreign aid. He also supported the U.S.'s fight against communism and its membership in NATO.

As a result of Rockefeller's policies, some conservatives sought to gain leverage by creating the Conservative Party of New York. The small party acted as a counter-weight to the Liberal Party of New York State.

[Smarmie Doofus]

19. You're leaving out the entire.second act.

The post '68 Rocky: Attica; support of Nixon in '72 ( delivered the nominating speech at RNC, in fact); nutty, demagogic drug laws.

Nelson was transformed by the time he died. There was no third act.

[TomClash]

12. Would never, ever happen . . .

NEVER.

[Smarmie Doofus]

15. Why not? He could run it both primaries. nt

[TomClash]

17. He has no base of support

He's never lived in Manhattan. He supports the death penalty, a no-no in Manhattan, as Leslie Crocker Snyder learned the last time she ran for DA.

We have plenty of qualified candidates. We don't need him.

[Smarmie Doofus]

18. He's got *some* base of support.

DUers *worship* him.

He *worked* in Manhattan ( as a doorman) when he was in school. Hard to penalize someone 'cause he can't afford to LIVE there.

Ms. Clinton didn't live in Manhattan.... or even in NYS; didn't prevent her from being nominated and elected. So there's ample precedent for an outsider.

Death penalty may be hard to sell to Manhattanites; this is true. But it may not be determinative. I imagine he will "qualify" his position... were he to make a run. As Gillibrand has qualified her gun control opposition.


It's what they do. Politicians, that is.

Where's all this hidden talent you speak of?

>>>>We have plenty of qualified candidates. We don't need him>>>>>.

[TomClash]

20. He has no political support at all

Maybe 20 DUers live in Manhattan. Few are sending money to Fitzgerald. He doesn't know the issues or the judges or the courts. Why would anyone vote for him?

Hillary was recruited. She was the very smart wife of a former President who was popular in NY.

Here's just a few for starters: Vance, Aborn, Castlemen, Snyder are all well qualified for the job. All were or are prosecutors. Snyder was a Criminal Court Judge and the PBA loves her. Castleman is Deputy DA now. Vance and Aborn cut their teeth there. Pick your ideological flavor. They all have varying degrees of political support.

[Smarmie Doofus]

21. There's more than 20, firstly.

There are lots who'd send him ( Fitz)$$$$ from around the USA. Far as I know , he's not a candidate. No one's going to send him $$ at this point. How many PBAers in Manhattan, BTW? Fewer than there are DUers I'll bet.

Aside from Snyder, ( didn't you imply that she was unelectable upthread?) I've never heard of any of the names you mention... except for Vance ( cant be Cyrus?); which means that the average primary voter ( FORGET completely the average GE voter) hasn't heard of them either.


>>>she was the very smart wife of a former President who was popular in NY. >>>

Not smart enough, unlike most of her DEM congressional colleagues, to figure out the most important issue of this era in time to 1. save the world one million dead. 2. Her own aspirations of becoming President.

>>>>Few are sending money to Fitzgerald. He doesn't know the issues or the judges or the courts. Why would anyone vote for him?>>>>

Smart, intelligent, honest, generates EXTREMELY good press for himself and gets brownie pts among liberals for riding Bush and Co over Plamegate.

[TomClash]

23. Oh please

First, Fitzgerald got exactly one conviction in Plamegate. Libby, who walked anyway. Fitz is a Repuke, otherwise he would not have been appointed to the USA job in Chicago. He basically is a Repuke fraud who jailed a reporter and let's the crooks go free.

Hillary won two statewide elections. She's pretty smart.

He's Cyrus Vance's son.

The PBA has 25,000 members and I'll bet 1,000 live in Manhattan, probably Upper Manhattan. DUers are idiots if they support Fitzgerald.

I never said Snyder was unelectable. I said she lost because she supported the death penalty. She has now altered her views, a la Gillibrand.

[emad]

24. I completely disagree with your slant 'Repuke fraud'. It is disingenuous

to say the least.

As for 'DUers are idiots if they support Fitzgerald' - I expect the Blagojevich business still rankles with some.

During my 20-odd years with the UN where I worked as a senior legal officer drafting and implementing legislation I met with FitzGerald on a number of occasions.

Can't say he ever struck me as a Republican, let alone a fan of the Bush family.

I was always impressed by his exceptionally high caliber professionalism, detachment from political schmoozing and dedication to upholding the US Constitution as it related to international constitutional law.

I have also known Bob Morgenthau for many years and had a number of fruitful interactions with him over his closure of the BCCI fiasco in the NY.

In my opinion FitzGerald is as staunchly incorruptible and professionally outstanding as Morgenthau, who I admire for all the many stated qualities that his peers attest to.

I don't know if Fitzie is ever likely to run for Morgenthau's job. Among Dem lawyers of my personal acquaintance he is very highly regarded.

[TomClash]

26. I'm truly impressed with your connections and resume

You should be proud. And I'm not being sarcastic or snarky.

I'm sorry for the "DUers are idiots" remark; it was over the top as I frequently type and don't proofread when posting on blogs.

But please tell me how Fitzgerald got appointed US Atty in Chicago. The answer is he was politically connected to the Bush regime.

Do you think his record in Plamegate was outstanding? Which Dem lawyers in NY reagrd him highly? Which ones want him to become Manhattan DA?

He is the USA in Chicago - he's probably not running for this job.

Why is he qualified for the job? There are a lot of able former and current federal and state prosecutors who could do the job.

[Adelante]

4. Morgenthau's predecessor

Frank Hogan served about that long. Both great DAs. I think Patrick FitzGerald would stand a chance of being elected there, because it's not a terribly politicized post in NYC.

[byeya]

5. We'll be lucky to see a person like him again. eom

[Raineyb]

7. I always consider it lucky to have a DA who pushes bogus cases because of

public pressure.

I'm sure the Central Park Jogger defendants are hoping for more DAs like him.

Regards

[No Elephants]

10. LOL, I'm detecting a trace of irony there. Just a tad.

[Raineyb]

11. That jogger case was handled horribly.

I remember at the time a bunch of us were saying that something stunk in that case especially when the DNA didn't match any of the defendants. And we were well aware of the NYPD's tendency to round up young black men. :shrug:

But you can't have certain types of women getting raped and beaten in the park without looking for someone to pay for it.

Regards

[Lost in CT]

6. Man he was my favorite.... Law and Order gets worse every year. nt

[davidinalameda]

22. I was waiting for a L&O reference

:evilgrin:

[bushmeister0]

28. I agree. Mission Impossible got worse when he left, too.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it Mr. Briggs . . ."

[NikolaC]

8. Wow!

I cannot believe that he is 89. He's been DA in NY for what seems like forever. It's a well earned retirement.

[TomClash]

14. We don't need him

We have plenty of able candidates. He could not shine their shoes. We don't need him thank you very much.

[emad]

25. That is a very prejudiced slant, completely unworthy and somewhat

desperate sounding.

[TomClash]

27. Prejudiced?

I take exception to that. Perhaps the desperate sound is coming from somewhere nearer to you - it's not coming from me.