A new Acting United States Attorney has taken office for the Eastern District of New York.
Mark J. Lesko was sworn in as the Acting United States Attorney on March 22 by United States Chief Judge for the Eastern District of New York Margo K. Brodie. Lesko’s predecessor, Seth D. DuCharme, officially resigned on March 19.
“It is an absolute honor and privilege to serve as the Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Lesko. “After having spent many years on the line prosecuting federal crimes, as well as significant time overseeing prosecutions and civil cases in a wide range of supervisory positions, I look forward to leading the Office and working with our law enforcement and agency partners to protect and serve the Eastern District’s more than eight million residents. I’m also particularly proud that I get to continue to work with the outstanding and dedicated women and men in the Office as they continue their tireless efforts to prosecute criminal cases and defend the interests of the United States, all in the unwavering pursuit of the fair administration of equal justice under the law.”
Lesko earned his B.A. from Yale University in 1989 and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1994. Prior to taking on this new role, since March 2019 Lesko served as the First Assistant United States Attorney, acting as a second-in-command of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a key decision-maker in both criminal prosecutions and civil litigation in the Office. In 2018, Lesko held the position of Special Counsel to the United States Attorney and also was on the prosecution team that won the trial conviction of Nxivm founder Keith Raniere, who was indicted on several charges including racketeering and racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking; attempted sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy; forced labor conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.
From 2002 to 2009, Lesko held multiple positions within the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He has served as the Deputy Chief of the Long Island Criminal Division and as a Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Coordinator. Some of his notable cases include prosecutions of the former CEO and CFO of Symbol Technologies; a titanium manufacturing company and its CEO for violations of the Resource Conservation Recovery Act for illegal storage of hazardous waste; two fraudulent financiers of a major motion picture; and a Colombo associate. Lesko also was involved in the conviction of a Long Island couple who tortured two Indonesian domestic servants held in a condition of forced labor and servitude; gang members who murdered a man that was mistaken for a member of MS-13; and the man behind a series of armed robberies in New York City and Long Island.
Lesko served as the Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1999 to 2002 in the Homicide/Major Crimes section. He has also previously served as the Vice President for Economic Development, the Executive Dean of the Center for Entrepreneurship and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Hofstra University. Before Hofstra, Lesko was the Executive Director of Accelerate Long Island and also was elected as Supervisor of the Town of Brookhaven three times.
