Breon Peace, Long Island's top federal prosecutor, resigns, his office says

The top federal prosecutor for Long Island and Brooklyn announced he is resigning next month, ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, of the Eastern District of New York, is resigning effective Jan. 10., he said in a statement Wednesday. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Pokorny will assume the title of acting U.S. attorney in the district.

"It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as United States Attorney, to be at the forefront in protecting the over eight million residents of this great district from harm, in upholding the rule of law and promoting civil rights and dignity for all people," Peace said, adding: "As I leave the Office, I will always be grateful for the extraordinary work we have done together in furthering our mission, doing the right thing always and in achieving justice with honor and integrity. And, I look forward to the Office’s continued courageous commitment to pursuing justice, fairly and ethically, without bias, without fear or favor, and with compassion and empathy for our fellow human beings."

Peace's resignation announcement follows the resignation of his colleague Damian Williams, who resigned as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, earlier this month. It is not uncommon for U.S. attorneys to resign ahead of a change in presidential administrations.

Peace, who was nominated by President Joe Biden to lead the district, which also includes Queens and Staten Island, began his tenure Oct. 15, 2021. The office prosecutes violations of federal law and employs over 160 prosecutors out of Central Islip and Brooklyn.

Peace was the first Black man to be named a partner at the Manhattan law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in 2007, where he worked on white collar defense, before he was nominated by Biden.

As U.S. attorney, his office prosecuted former Long Island Rep. George Santos, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.

His office also prosecuted convicted NYC subway shooter Frank James, who was sentenced to 10 concurrent life sentences, plus 10 years, for shooting 10 people during an attack on the subway in Brooklyn in 2022. Also, in 2022, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay the federal government $35 million for environmental cleanup at the company’s former Bethpage plant.

Pokorny, who has been the second-in-command in the Brooklyn-based U.S. attorney’s office since 2022, is a veteran prosecutor who previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the office for more than 14 years.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.