ALBANY — Antoinette T. Bacon, who prosecuted public corruption in the Cleveland area more than a decade ago, has been named the new acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr announced Thursday.
Bacon is replacing Grant C. Jaquith as the top federal prosecutor for 32 counties in northeastern and central New York state.
“I know the Northern District will find Toni to be an exceptional prosecutor and dedicated leader,” Barr said in announcing the appointment.
Jaquith, a 30-year federal prosecutor, had been the acting U.S. attorney for the district since 2017. He recently resigned after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. He was sworn in on Wednesday. Jaquith, who previously headed the U.S. attorney’s Albany office, is a Niskayuna resident.
Bacon previously served as the Department of Justice’s National Elder Justice Coordinator, spearheading elder fraud prosecutions from Washington, D.C. She is credited with expanding efforts to target transmissional organizations that prey on older Americans, and launched the “money mule” and National Nursing Home Initiative aimed at stopping fraud and abuse.
As an associate deputy attorney general, Bacon also assisted in the formulation and implentation of criminal justice reform legislation.
Earlier in her career, she was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Ohio, where she prosecuted an extensive public corruption case that involved public officials in Cuyahoga County and the city of Cleveland. That case lasted nine years and involved the prosecution of more than 60 people, the Department of Justice said, and prompted an overhaul of Cuyahoga County government.
“I’m honored and humbled to be designated as the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York,” Bacon said. “I look forward to working tirelessly with my fellow federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners to continue the effort to make the community safe for all.”
Bacon is graduate of American University, with a law degree from the University of Virginia. Before joining the Justice Department she clerked for a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia.
In her new job, Bacon will be overseeing a prosecutor’s office with 49 assistant U.S. attorneys, 49 support staff, and 15 contract support staff. The district has offices in Albany, Utica, Syracuse, Binghamton and Plattsburgh.
The office prosecutes criminal cases in the district, as well as representing the United States government in civil litigation.
Reach staff writer Stephen Williams at 518-395-3086, [email protected] or @gazettesteve on Twitter.
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