Answer: Sol Wachtler, chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1985 to 1992. Appointed by Governor Mario Cuomo, Wachtler coined the “indict a ham sandwich” line about prosecutorial power over grand juries, a phrase Tom Wolfe borrowed for The Bonfire of the Vanities. In November 1992, FBI agents arrested him for a monthslong campaign of threats and extortion demands against Joy Silverman. He pleaded guilty, and served 13 months in prison. Afterward, Wachtler was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and became an advocate for the mentally ill and for criminal-justice reform. Read more here.
« Previous 1 2