U.S. attorney in NY names Spitzer prosecutor top deputy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Preet Bharara, the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, on Monday elevated several prosecutors to senior positions, after he earlier this month took over one of the nation's top law enforcement jobs.

Boyd Johnson, who handled a probe of a prostitution ring used by former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, was named deputy U.S. attorney, the office's No. 2 official.

Johnson was previously chief of the office's public corruption and international narcotics and trafficking units, and joined the office in 1999.

Four people pleaded guilty in connection with the prostitution ring, known as Emperors Club VIP. Spitzer was not charged, but resigned as governor last year after his name surfaced in the scandal.

Raymond Lohier was named chief of the criminal division's securities and commodities fraud task force. He was previously deputy chief of that unit, and oversaw the narcotics unit.

Lohier was among those involved in the prosecution of Marc Dreier, a lawyer sentenced last month to 20 years in prison for a $400 million investment fund fraud.

Miriam Rocah was named chief of the criminal division's organized crime unit. Previously, she was deputy chief of that unit and the narcotics unit. She joined the office in 2001.

Daniel Stein, who joined the office in 2003, was named chief of the criminal division's public corruption unit. He previously worked in that unit as well as in the international narcotics trafficking unit.

In a statement, Bharara said: "These exceptional attorneys have distinguished themselves as fair, tenacious and respected prosecutors."

Bharara is a former chief counsel to Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and helped oversee a congressional investigation into the Bush administration's firing of eight U.S. attorneys in 2006.

Lev Dassin had been acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York since late last year. Dassin left the office this month, a spokeswoman for the office said, and it was not immediately clear what his future plans were.

The office handles federal cases in Manhattan, Bronx and six other counties in southeast New York state. Its case load has in recent months included convicted swindler Bernard Madoff and his $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Among Bharara's predecessors as U.S. attorney are Robert Morgenthau, now the Manhattan district attorney, and Rudolph Giuliani, who later became mayor of New York City and a Republican candidate for U.S. president.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, Editing by Tim Dobbyn)