Power Broker: Liz Crotty, Candidate for Manhattan DA

Liz Crotty is a high-profile attorney who made her mark on all sides of the courtroom and now she is vying to be Manhattan’s highest prosecutor: Manhattan District Attorney.

Unlike many politicians today who are reluctant to hold the banner of law enforcement, Crotty has dubbed herself the law-and-order candidate in the race to be Manhattan’s top prosecutor and boasts the support of law enforcement titans, former-New York City Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly and the New York City Police Benevolent Association.

She has also garnered support from other uniformed unions, including the Uniformed Fire Officers Association and the Uniformed Firefighters Association, the two largest unions in the FDNY.

In 2000, Crotty graduated from Fordham Law School and began a career in the criminal justice system.  Shortly thereafter, she began her career in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, utilizing her unique and lifelong knowledge of Manhattan to aid in her prosecution. Liz was known for trying cases that ranged from money laundering to attempted murder, and helped get criminals off of the city’s streets and put them behind bars.

After serving for four years in trial bureau 70 in Manhattan, Crotty moved into the investigation division, where she investigated complex white-collar cases on the local, national and international levels.

During Crotty’s time in this capacity, she worked on myriad of cases with national and international importance, not the least of which was investigating Saddam Hussein for the Oil-for-food case, which he notoriously pocketed millions of dollars for personal gain from assistance funding for the food insecure in Iraq.

“We worked with international authorities, the United Nations had sanctioned Saddam Hussein, when he was manipulating Oil for Food for his own personal gain,” Crotty says. “With law enforcement in London, Switzerland, Italy and elsewhere. It was an worldwide investigation.”

After this, Liz went on to a stint in civil law, where she focused her efforts on bringing justice to the families of the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. While working for Kreindler & Kreindler, she helped hold international state sponsors of terror accountable.

Shortly thereafter, in 2008, Crotty went to Scranton, Pennsylvania, to help generate interest and GOTV efforts on the Obama Campaign. She was in the “Boiler Room” on election day ensuring election integrity. For the first-time in history, electronic voting machines were being used, and given her previous expertise as a prosecutor, she was fit for the job.

But soon thereafter, she heard her calling to return to the courtroom.

Liz once again heard her calling in criminal law and started her own law firm with partner Jeremy Saland. She now represents the accused and ensures that the facts of cases are heard by the jury.  Knowing the inner-workings of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office as a former prosecutor, she has had commendable success defending the rights of the unjustly accused.

“I am a believer in the system and I believe in the process,” she says. “No matter what side you are on, you have specific roles. I understand that the district attorney’s office is an arm of law enforcement, I understand defense is the job to protect the rights of their client … I’ve developed a mutual respect for both sides.”

Crotty says that this experience would suit her well as Manhattan’s top prosecutor, especially because her entire career has been built on the best interests of New Yorkers. Her goal is to once-again ensure that public safety is paramount in the district attorney’s office—a goal that every New Yorker can get behind during this tumultuous period in the City and boroughs.

She notes, from a managerial point of view, who better to run this complex office than someone who has experience from within.

“In a period of time where institutional knowledge is paramount, I see it best for the everyday citizens of New York to have someone who has experience as a prosecutor at the helm of this critical component of government,” Crotty says.

When asked why she has decided to pursue this role, it’s a shorter answer:

“I come from a long line of public servants, and I know that this is the way I can step up to serve this city in the best way I know how.”

Liz Crotty has a lifelong appreciation for the City that she has called home all her life. When asked what she likes most about Manhattan—what makes it different than anywhere else in the world—she says:

“There is a real honesty to this city. At 8 a.m. when I am walking my dog, you see this honesty and the City’s truest expression of what it has to offer.”

It’s safe to say that those supporting Crotty want a District Attorney with a view from the sidewalk-on-up.

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.