Big moves are happening within the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of New York, as United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III has just announced the appointment of Lisa M. Fletcher as Chief of the Criminal Division and Cyrus P.W. Rieck as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, signaling a strategic bolstering of the district's legal leadership team. Fletcher, who has been part of the office since 1999, is succeeding her role as Deputy Criminal Chief—her career spanning multiple prosecutorial capacities within the state, including serving as an Assistant District Attorney in both New York and Onondaga Counties, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Meanwhile, Sarcone has also decided to retain several existing senior managers such as First Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Hanlon, and Karen Folster Lesperance, who will remain as Chief of the Civil Division, these decisions are in line with his stated commitment to the Department of Justice's mission to better serve the community, Fletcher and Rieck who both bring an extensive array of experience from past legal endeavors Fletcher, a St. John's University School of Law alum, and Rieck, who clerked for judges in the U.S. District Courts before his tenure at the office. Both are touted for their robust legal backgrounds, and Fletcher's additional role as the Project Safe Childhood Coordinator speaks to her breadth of focus on crucial issues.
Commenting on the appointments, Sarcone remarked, "I am pleased to make these appointments which I believe add great depth of experience and perspective to our decision-making to better serve the Northern District of New York and the mission of the Department of Justice," as noted by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Cyrus Rieck has been appointed Deputy Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, bringing experience from the prominent law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and over a decade in federal prosecution since joining the office in 2014. His promotion follows his role as Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney. Alongside him, longtime prosecutors like Lesperance, who joined in 2012 after working in private practice, and Hanlon, a SUNY Binghamton and Albany Law graduate who has held key roles since 2008, reflect a broader effort by U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman and Criminal Chief Michael Sarcone to strengthen the district's prosecutorial team.
