Deaths

Longtime Manhattan District Attorney, Robert Morgenthau, Dies At 99

The man known as "America's DA" has died.

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(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for HBO)

Robert Morgenthau, best known for his service as Manhattan’s district attorney for 35 years, died on Sunday at the age of 99, just a few weeks shy of his 100th birthday. According to the producers of the Law & Order franchise, he was the prosecutor they used as the model for initial series DA Adam Schiff.

In his work as Manhattan DA, Morgenthau oversaw 3.5 million prosecutions between 1975 and 2009. There he garnered a reputation for not only prosecuting high profile violent crimes — such as John Lennon’s killer, Mark David Chapman, and notorious “Preppy Killer” Robert Chambers Jr. — but also for going after white-collar crimes, like the money laundering convictions at the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, and convicting Tyco International CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski and CFO Mark H. Swartz of financial crimes.

Throughout his tenure as DA, the many attorneys that worked for him included several that went on to have their own prominent careers including Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, John F. Kennedy Jr., Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Morgenthau’s successor Cyrus Vance Jr.

Though he retired from public service in 2009, that was not the end of his legal career. He continued to work until his death at prestigious Biglaw firm, Wachtell Lipton. In a recent profile, Morgenthau said he missed his chance to retire at 65 or 70, saying, “My grandfather used to say opportunity comes to everyone. The secret is to recognize it and not let it go by. I didn’t recognize the opportunity [to retire] and let it go.”

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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