Paul J. Curran
Paul Curran | |
---|---|
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York | |
In office June 4, 1973 – October 31, 1975 | |
President | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford |
Preceded by | Whitney North Seymour Jr. |
Succeeded by | Thomas Cahill |
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 70th district | |
In office January 1, 1966 – December 31, 1966 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Jose Ramos-Lopez |
Member of the New York State Assembly from the New York County 6th district | |
In office January 1, 1963 – December 31, 1965 | |
Preceded by | Joseph J. Weiser |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Paul Jerome Curran February 21, 1933 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Died | September 4, 2008 (aged 75) New York City, New York, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Education | Georgetown University (BA) Fordham University (LLB) |
Paul Jerome Curran (February 21, 1933 – September 4, 2008) was an American Republican politician who served in the New York State Assembly and fought corruption as a federal prosecutor and as the state's commissioner of investigation.
Early life and education
Curran was born on February 21, 1933, in Manhattan.[1] He was the son of Thomas J. Curran (1898–1958), a prominent Manhattan Republican leader.[1]
He attended
Career in law and politics
After serving as an officer in the United States Air Force, he spent three years prosecuting narcotics cases as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.[1]
Curran joined the
Curran was a member of the
Governor Nelson Rockefeller appointed Curran to the New York State Commission of Investigation in 1968, elevating him to chairman the following year. Under his leadership, and despite the body's lack of authority to prosecute crimes they had uncovered, the Commission exposed kickbacks and fraud in Buffalo and Albany.[1]
He was appointed by President Richard Nixon as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1973. He remained in office until 1975, obtaining convictions of Carmine Tramunti, the head of the Lucchese crime family, and Representative Bertram L. Podell. He obtained an indictment against nursing home operator Bernard Bergman, that later led to a guilty plea in a $1.2 million Medicaid fraud case. He was a consultant to the Pentagon on intelligence matters in 1976.[1]
Special counsel
In 1979, U.S. Attorney General
The investigation was concluded in October 1979, with Curran announcing that no evidence had been found to support allegations that funds loaned from the National Bank of Georgia had been diverted to Carter's 1976 presidential campaign.[8]
1982 New York gubernatorial primary run
Curran entered the Republican primary race in 1982.[9] Curran lost in the primary to Lewis Lehrman by a 4-1 margin. The gubernatorial election that was ultimately won by Democrat Mario Cuomo.[10]
Personal life
Curran married Barbara Ann Frank in 1954, and they had seven children.[1][6] He lived in Manhattan and Spring Lake, New Jersey. He died on September 4, 2008. in Manhattan, of cancer.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j McFadden, Robert D. "Paul Curran, 75, Corruption Foe, Dies", The New York Times, September 6, 2008.
- ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths CURRAN, PAUL J".
- ^ Knowles, Clayton. Worried City Democrats to Seek Advice of Victorious Country Cousins in The New York Times on November 22, 1963 (subscription required)
- ^ LINDSAY APPOINTS LEGISLATIVE AIDE in The New York Times on December 24, 1966 (subscription required)
- ^ Staff. "I Have a Job to Do", Time (magazine), April 2, 1979. Accessed September 7, 2008.
- ^ a b Special Counsel, Litigation, Kaye Scholer. Accessed September 6, 2008.
- ^ Precious, Tom. "Panel considers special investigator to probe smear effort", The Buffalo News, July 28, 2007. Accessed September 7, 2008. "Curran's biography on the Web site of Kaye Scholer, his Manhattan firm, notes that he interviewed Carter under oath in 1979, the first such grilling of a sitting president."
- ^ Pound, Edward T. "CARTER'S BUSINESS CLEARED IN INQUIRY ON CAMPAIGN FUNDS; INDICTMENTS ARE RULED OUT Investigator Finds No Evidence of Diversion of Warehouse Profit to '76 Presidential Race Insufficient Loan Collateral Loan Diversion Alleged Carter Business Cleared in Inquiry on Bank Loans and Campaign Funds Errors in the Records History of Loans Traced", The New York Times, October 17, 1979. Accessed September 7, 2008.
- ^ Carroll, Maurice. "EX-U.S. ATTORNEY CURRAN IN RACE FOR GOVERNOR AS REPUBLICAN", The New York Times, April 20, 1982. Accessed September 7, 2008.
- ^ Lynn, Frank. "CUOMO BEATS KOCH IN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY; LEHRMAN, MOYNIHAN AND MRS. SULLIVAN WIN", The New York Times, September 24, 1982. Accessed September 7, 2008.