| William J. Hochul, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| United States Attorney for the Western District of New York | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office March 15, 2010 |
|
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Terrance P. Flynn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1959 Buffalo, New York |
| Spouse(s) | Kathleen C. Hochul |
| Alma mater | University of Notre Dame State University of New York at Buffalo (J.D.) |
William J. Hochul, Jr. (born 1959) is the United States Attorney for the Western District of New York.
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Hochul was born in Buffalo, New York in 1959.[1] He graduated from Cheektowaga Central High School in Cheektowaga, New York, just outside of Buffalo.[2] Hochul received a bachelor's degree from University of Notre Dame in 1981 and earned his Juris Doctor from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984.[3]
Hochul served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of New York from 1991 to 2010.[1] During that time, he served as Chief of the Anti-Terrorism Unit from 2002 to 2007 and as Chief of the National Security Division from 2007 to 2010.[3]
Hochul was awarded the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service for his work as lead prosecutor of the Lackawanna Six, which resulted in the 2003 convictions of six Yemeni-American for providing material support to Al-Qaeda.[4][5]
In 2006, Hochul unsuccessfully applied to a counterterrorism position at the Department of Justice's Executive Office for United States Attorneys.[4] A 2008 report by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General revealed that Hochul's appointment was one of several appointments that were inappropriately blocked by Department of Justice official Monica Goodling due to political considerations.[6] The report found that Hochul was passed over in favor of "a much less experienced, but politically acceptable, attorney".[6] Hochul, who has variously registered to vote as both an independent and a Democrat, is married to Kathleen C. Hochul, a longtime politically active Democrat.[6] The report concluded that Goodling found Hochul objectionable "because of his and his wife's political affiliation" and instead appointed a registered Republican who lacked counterterrorism experience and did not have the requisite five years of experience as a federal prosecutor.[6]
On December 23, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Hochul to serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of New York.[3] He was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on March 10, 2010.[7]
Hochul is married to Congresswoman Kathy Hochul,[8] who previously served as County Clerk of Erie County, New York from 2007 to 2011.[9] Hochul has two children—William and Caitlin.