UPDATE 1-Manhattan DA Morgenthau to step down - media (click title to entry - thank you)
Fri Feb 27, 2009 11:15am EST
NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau will not seek re-election in the fall and step down after 35 years as chief prosecutor for state crimes in the New York City borough, local media reported on Friday.
A spokeswoman for Morgenthau declined to comment.
Morgenthau, 89, a fixture in the New York Democratic Party for decades, has made the prosecution of financial crimes a top priority in recent years as violent crime fell in Manhattan.
The New York Times reported that Morgenthau would not seek re-election, citing a person told of the decision.
It was first reported by the New York Post, which cited "several sources" that Morgenthau had begun privately calling top deputies into his office to inform them of his intentions.
Morgenthau served in the job as Manhattan's district attorney longer than anyone else in history, outlasting countless actors who played the role of the D.A. in film and television dramas....
A spokeswoman for Morgenthau declined to comment.
Morgenthau, 89, a fixture in the New York Democratic Party for decades, has made the prosecution of financial crimes a top priority in recent years as violent crime fell in Manhattan.
The New York Times reported that Morgenthau would not seek re-election, citing a person told of the decision.
It was first reported by the New York Post, which cited "several sources" that Morgenthau had begun privately calling top deputies into his office to inform them of his intentions.
Morgenthau served in the job as Manhattan's district attorney longer than anyone else in history, outlasting countless actors who played the role of the D.A. in film and television dramas....
