US: Andrew Cuomo taps former Kirkland Antitrust Pro for State’s Highest Court

Former Manhattan US Attorney Michael J. Garcia was nominated by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday to serve as a judge on the state Court of Appeals, the first Republican the governor has tapped for New York’s highest court.

Mr. Garcia, 54 years old, is a partner at a Manhattan law firm and leads an advisory board for fantasy-sports operator FanDuel, which is facing intense legal scrutiny nationwide, including in New York. As US attorney, Mr. Garcia presided over the investigation into a high-price prostitution ring that led to the 2008 resignation of then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

In late 2014, Mr. Garcia resigned in protest from his role as FIFA’s top investigator, after the soccer-governing body declined to make public his report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. That process has since become the focus of a wide-ranging criminal probe implicating top FIFA officials.

Mr. Cuomo praised Mr. Garcia’s “broad, well-rounded perspective” on the law and called him “a talented, experienced and skilled prosecutor who will make a tremendous addition to the Court of Appeals.”

Full content: The Wall Street Journal

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