Sen. Charles Schumer recommended Robert Capers, a veteran federal prosecutor, to replace Loretta Lynch as U.S. attorney in the Eastern District, calling Mr. Capers a “smart, hardworking” prosecutor in the mold of Ms. Lynch.
Mr. Capers, a senior assistant in Brooklyn’s public integrity division, is said to be Ms. Lynch’s expected successor. Ms. Lynch was recently confirmed as the U.S. attorney general.
“Capers is in the mold of Loretta Lynch, really smart, hardworking, nose to the grind stone; not flashy but gets the job done and gets it done superbly,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement today.
Mr. Schumer noted that he spoke with Ms. Lynch and she was “delighted” by his choice. A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee which handles the confirmation of U.S. attorneys. Mr. Schumer twice recommended Ms. Lynch to serve in the Eastern District.
“I am also confident—because he has dedicated his life to this calling—that he understands the delicate balance that must be upheld between protecting the community from the threat of crime and protecting the civil rights of the people in the community,” he added.
Mr. Capers, a graduate of New York University and Albany Law School, will oversee one of the most high profile districts in the country, covering the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and all of Long Island. Like its neighboring Southern District, the Eastern District is known for prosecuting cases terrorism, civil rights, organized crime and political corruption. Ms. Lynch was somewhat press shy but still managed to win big cases, including a guilty conviction of former Congressman Michael Grimm.
Mr. Capers, 44, is not well known. Born in the Bronx and raised in Rockland County, he comes from a family of cops. Both his father and brother are NYPD officers, according to Mr. Schumer.
Mr. Capers was not initially the front-runner for the post, according to a Bloomberg Politics report. But he led the prosecution of several important cases, most notably Assemblyman William Boyland Jr.’s corruption trial. Mr. Boyland was convicted last year on bribery, conspiracy and other crimes.
