Subscribe
NewsOne Featured Video
CLOSE
Loretta Lynch

Source: (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images) / Getty

A longtime federal prosecutor in Brooklyn has won critical support to replace Loretta Lynch as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, report various media.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer  (D-NY) has asked President Barack Obama to nominate Robert L. Capers to succeed Loretta E. Lynch, who left to become the first Black, female U.S. attorney general in April.

If nominated, 44-year-old Capers would have to be approved by the Senate to become the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, which covers Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island.

From The New York Daily News:

Capers worked under Lynch in the Eastern District of New York as senior litigation counsel, prosecuting public corruption cases.

The Bronx-born lawyer, a graduate of NYU, led a successful corruption prosecution against Democratic Assemblyman William Boyland last year.

He is the son of an NYPD detective and the brother of an NYPD officer.

According The New York Times:

He rose to the top on the merits,” Mr. Schumer, a Democrat, said of Mr. Capers, who joined the office in 2003 and currently prosecutes public corruption cases. “He’s really smart, he’s very hardworking, nose to the grindstone, not flashy, gets the job done and gets it done superbly.”…

The [Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s] office has become more prominent lately, though, in part because of Ms. Lynch’s appointment, and also because prosecutors have handled a raft of big cases. Recently, the office has prosecuted former United States Representative Michael G. Grimm, former Assemblyman William F. Boyland Jr. (a case Mr. Capers handled), several people accused of being members of the Shabab and Al Qaeda, and the man said to be behind the 1978 Lufthansa jewel heist that is a central plot point in the film “Goodfellas.”

A spokeswoman for the United States attorney’s office in the Eastern District, declined to comment to The Times about the recommendation, and Capers did not respond to a request for comment.

Presidents usually consult with senators from a state in nominating U.S. Attorneys, notes The Daily News.

Congratulations, Mr. Capers. We’re rooting for you!

SOURCE: The New York Times | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

SEE ALSO:

Loretta Lynch Sworn In As First African American Woman U.S. Attorney General In Moving Ceremony