Letter: Suffolk days of AG nominee
Loretta Lynch, nominee for U.S. Attorney General, attends a meeting with U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Dec. 2, 2014. Credit: Getty Images / Saul Loeb
When Loretta Lynch becomes attorney general of the United States and a member of President Barack Obama's cabinet, she will be no stranger to Suffolk County ["Lynch closer to confirmation," News, Feb. 27].
Twenty years ago, Lynch's baptism in Suffolk arose when she became deputy chief of the newly established Long Island office of the U.S. attorney and spearheaded criminal prosecutions of Town of Brookhaven officials for corruption charges centered around auto dealer John McNamara.
McNamara made a deal with the prosecution and testified as Lynch's chief witness against Town of Brookhaven officials. After two trials, none of the officials was convicted. But that was not due to any lack of professionalism or effort on Lynch's part. Her difficulty rested on trying to convince the jury of McNamara's credibility, a monumental task given his circumstances.
Joseph W. Ryan Jr., Melville
Editor's note: The writer served with Lynch on the merit selection committee for U.S. magistrate-judges and is a past president of the Nassau County Bar Association.
