U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Draws a Crowd in Scarsdale

The top federal law enforcement officer for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara filled the room at Scarsdale Golf Club when he came to address the Scarsdale League of Women Voters on Friday October 14. Bharara was invited and introduced by Scarsdale Acting Village Justice Cindy Dunne who served with and under Bharara in the U.S. Attorney's Office. She credited him with fighting terrorism and corruption and said he was committed to justness and fairness.

Bharara explained that though most people thinking his jurisdiction is only Manhattan, his office also covers several northern counties and the effects of his work extend around the globe to countries like Russia, Venezuela, Turkey, India and Switzerland.

He said, "We make cases against corrupt public officials and we try to bring justice
to broken correctional institutions. We protect the homeland and brought both the Times Square and Chelsea bombers to court." He added, "We are fearless, independent, and were proud of it. We believe no one is above the law, no matter how rich."

He referenced corruption charges brought against members of both houses of the NYS Legislature including Speaker of the NYS Assembly Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos from the NYS Senate for extorting no show jobs for his son Adam in exchange for official conduct. Bharara credited local Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who was in attendance at the luncheon, with testifying against Silver, in spite of the fact that she was dependent on him and Silver was known to be vindictive.

Bharara said, "There is a "show me the money" culture in Albany, " which he called a "bipartisan problem." He quoted a recent poll that found that 87% of people believe that corruption is a serious problem in New York State and only 4% thought the prosecutor has gone too far.

In addition to his focus on public corruption, Bharara's office is also working to stem opioid abuse, a growing problem in the U.S. where 78 Americans a day die from opioid overdoses. Citing trafficking of prescription drugs as one of the causes, Bharara said, "we are shutting down distribution channels including doctors, pill mills and peddlers and getting significant sentences." In addition to fighting drug abuse through prosecutions, his office will host educational forums on the issue, with one scheduled for December 1 at Pace University.

Saying his office remains optimistic in the face of some very tough challenges he said,
"We have a choice. We can imagine ourselves as Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill only to have it roll back down the hill. Or we can look at Archimedes who said,
'Give me a long enough lever and a place to stand and I shall move the earth itself.""

Asked during the question and answer period if he would continue to serve if appointed by the next president, he said, "I love my job and I am not tired of it and I will continue to serve."