The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight contiguous New York counties: the counties (coextensive boroughs of New York City) of New York (Manhattan) and Bronx, and the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, the office represents the United States government in criminal and civil cases across the country. The SDNY handles a broad array of cases, including but not limited to those involving white collar crime, domestic terrorism, cybercrime, public corruption, organized crime, and civil rights disputes.
The Southern District has earned itself the moniker the "Sovereign District of New York". Its resources, culture, and accompanying FBI field office have given the SDNY a reputation for being exceptionally aggressive in its pursuit of criminals. Due to its jurisdiction over the New York City borough of Manhattan, the preeminent financial center of the United States of America, the office's incumbent is often nicknamed the "Sheriff of Wall Street".
Contents
Organization
The office is organized into two divisions handling civil and criminal matters. The Southern District of New York also has two offices: in Manhattan and White Plains. The office employs approximately 220 assistant U.S. attorneys.
List of U.S. attorneys
In 1814, the District of New York was divided into the Northern and the Southern District.
Notable assistants
Michael F. Armstrong, lawyer
Bob Arum, boxing promoter
Debra A. Livingston, lawyer and judge
Neil Barofsky, special inspector general overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program
Bernard Bell, professor at Rutgers School of Law–Newark
Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey
Thomas E. Dewey, Governor of New York and the unsuccessful Republican candidate for President in 1944 and 1948
Eddie Eagan, former Olympic athlete
Louis Freeh, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Patrick Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois
Felix Frankfurter, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
John Marshall Harlan II, associate justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Elie Honig, lawyer and CNN Senior Legal Analyst
Arthur L. Liman, criminal defense attorney
Robert J. McGuire, former New York City Police Commissioner
Michael Mukasey, former United States Attorney General
In popular culture
Television
The Showtime drama series Billions is loosely based on Preet Bharara's prosecution of SAC Capital and other hedge funds.
The ABC legal drama For the People depicts new defense attorneys and prosecutors working in the Southern District of New York.
The 2020 Netflix series Fear City: New York vs The Mafia documents the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Southern District of New York against the Five Families of the Italian American Mafia in the 1980s.