New Brooklyn federal prosecutor pledges to pursue systemic change

(Reuters) - Breon Peace was sworn in as the new U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York on Friday, pledging to pursue "systemic change" while drawing on his experience as a Black man who grew up in Brooklyn.

At his investiture ceremony at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn, which he attended in the 1980s, Peace nodded to rising gun violence in New York City and said he would aggressively pursue violent crime and arms trafficking in his district, which also includes Queens, Staten Island and Long Island.

"In times of crisis, it is important to have leadership that is strong, courageous, principled, compassionate and dedicated to equal justice under the law," Peace said after being sworn in by U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie, the district's chief judge. "I've seen how the law can be a tool for justice."

The Eastern District often brings high-profile financial crimes and corruption cases.

In recent years, it has won the convictions of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman for drug trafficking and R&B singer R. Kelly for sexual abuse. It is now on trial against a former Goldman Sachs (GS.N) banker accused of looting Malaysia's 1MDB development fund.

Peace was nominated to become U.S. attorney by President Joe Biden last year, and was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate.

He had previously been a prosecutor in the Eastern District, and a white collar defense lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

Peace noted that he was a member of "one of the most diverse cohorts" of U.S. Attorneys. Biden appointees Damian Williams and Trini Ross, the top federal prosecutors for the Southern and Western Districts of New York respectively, are also Black.

In addition to prosecuting violent crimes, Peace said his office would "advance positive systemic change" by pursuing civil rights and environmental justice cases, saying communities of color "all too often bear the burden" of contamination.

He said he would invest in re-entry programs to reduce recidivism.

"Where we direct our resources will be community- and values-driven," he said.

Speakers at the investiture included Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, another Brooklyn native who recommended Peace for the role, and former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who twice led the Eastern District prosecutors' office.

Also in attendance were Peace's wife Jacqueline Jones-Peace, a senior attorney at the Equal Justice Initiative, and New York state Attorney General Letitia James.

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