Source: United States Department of Justice
This week, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa O. Monaco traveled to New York City for a series of engagements that highlighted the department’s efforts to root out corporate crime, reduce violence and reform the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
On Tuesday, DAG Monaco visited the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), where she met with U.S. Attorney Breon Peace and his leadership team. She received an update on the investigation into the recent mass shooting on the New York Subway in Brooklyn, and she commended the case team for their hard work. The DAG also chaired a roundtable discussion with federal and local law enforcement leaders on violent crime, and she answered questions from the EDNY office during an all-hands meeting.
Also on Tuesday, DAG Monaco visited the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn to observe its operation and integration of inmates from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. The DAG made the decision to close that facility following a visit last year. At the MDC in Brooklyn, she met with BOP staff, heard about their efforts to improve facility operations and thanked them for their commitment to BOP’s dual mission of providing safe, humane custody while also preparing individuals for a return to society.
On Wednesday morning, DAG Monaco participated in a moderated discussion as the keynote address at the New York City Bar Association’s 10th Annual White Collar Crime Institute. The DAG warned that the department is seeing a growing overlap between corporate crime and national security, in areas such as terrorist group financing, money laundering to evade sanctions and cybercrime. In the course of her conversation, the DAG reiterated that the Department of Justice is committed to enforcing the sweeping sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and stressed that it is critically important for financial institutions and international corporations alike to pay close attention to these sanctions.
From there, the DAG went to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), where she joined the U.S. Attorney and other law enforcement leaders to announce the unsealing of charges against four individuals for the multibillion-dollar collapse of Archegos Capital Management. In her remarks, the DAG stressed that the Department of Justice’s first priority in corporate criminal matters is unambiguously “to prosecute the individuals who commit and profit from corporate malfeasance — including when those individuals occupy the C-Suite.”
The DAG also met with U.S. Attorney Damian Williams and his leadership team, and she received a series of case briefings from SDNY personnel. Her visit to SDNY concluded with an all-hands meeting, where she addressed an office-wide gathering and fielded questions. In her remarks to the office, she thanked the women and men of SDNY for their hard work on behalf of the citizens throughout the district.
Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, the DAG met with NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell. She discussed the work of the Department of Justice to combat violent crime and gun trafficking and thanked the Commissioner for the work of the NYPD, and for the vital partnerships among state, local and federal law enforcement that are essential to keeping our communities safe. The DAG also acknowledged the recent, tragic shootings of NYPD officers and the sacrifices made by law enforcement around the country every day.
The DAG returned to Washington this morning.