William J. Hochul Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1959) is an American lawyer who served as

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of New York from 2010 to 2016. Hochul has been the first gentleman of New York since August 2021, when his wife,

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; ; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she is New York's List of female ...

, ascended to the governorship following the resignation of

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

. He was previously the Second Gentleman while his wife was lieutenant governor from 2015 to 2021. Hochul is currently counsel at international law firm

Davis Polk Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, commonly known as Davis Polk, is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, D.C., Menlo Park, London, Madrid, Brussels, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, and São Paulo. The ...

Early life and education

William J. Hochul Jr. was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

on April 1, 1959. His grandparents were Catholic immigrants from Poland. He graduated from

Cheektowaga Central High School Cheektowaga Central High School is a high school in Cheektowaga, New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in t ...

Cheektowaga, New York Cheektowaga (; ) is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is ...

, just outside Buffalo. Hochul earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1981 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public research university in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1846 a ...

in 1984.

Career

Hochul served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of New York from 1991 to 2010. 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. As an assistant U.S. attorney, Hochul served as a prosecutor in the 1994 trial of

Sly Green Donald "Sly" Green () is an American drug trafficker and gangster. He was the founder of the L.A. Boys gang in Buffalo, New York. Early life and crime Green was born in Buffalo. He founded the L.A. Boys gang. They were named the "L.A. Boys" bec ...

and 27 members of his gang, the L.A. Boys. Green was sentenced to 4 life sentences, plus 110 years in prison. In 1996, he also served as an adversary for the murder trial of George "Dog" Powell, another member of the L.A. Boys. William J. Hochul Jr. was one of the 18 members of the Buffalo Joint Terrorism Task Force awarded the

Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gov ...

, the highest award of the Department of Justice, for "their exemplary performance in the dismantlement of the Lackawanna, New York terrorist cell" which resulted in the 2003 convictions of six

Yemeni-American Yemeni Americans are Americans of Yemenis, Yemeni ancestry. According to an estimate in 2020, more than 90,000 Yemenis live in the United States. History Although it is unknown when Yemenis first arrived, it is believed that Yemenis were immi ...

for

providing material support to Al-Qaeda In United States law, providing material support for terrorism is a crime prohibited by the USA PATRIOT Act and codified in title 18 of the United States Code. Penalties include fines and up to 15 years in prison, per sectio2339A and up to 20 ye ...

. Hochul is also generally recognized as the first prosecutor to use the nation's racketeering laws to dismantle violent street gangs. William Hochul US Attorney

DOJ report on employment rejection

In 2006, William J. Hochul Jr. unsuccessfully applied to a counterterrorism position in the

Executive Office for United States Attorneys The Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) is the office within the Department of Justice that provides executive and administrative support for the 93 United States Attorneys located throughout the 50 states, District of Columbia, ...

. 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 G.W. Bush's Department of Justice official

Monica Goodling Monica Marie Goodling (born August 6, 1973) is an American lawyer who formerly served as a political appointee in the George W. Bush administration, best known for her role in the 2006 dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy. As Principal Deputy ...

due to political considerations. The report found that Hochul was passed over in favor of "a much less experienced, but politically acceptable, attorney". Hochul, who has variously registered to vote as both an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, is married to Kathleen C. Hochul, a longtime, politically-active Democrat. 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.

U.S. Attorney

On December 23, 2009, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

nominated Hochul to serve as the

for the Western District of New York. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a propo ...

on March 10, 2010. According to the ''Am-Pol Eagle'', Hochul is the first Polish-American to serve as a federal prosecutor for Western New York State.

Later career

In 2016, Hochul became senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary to

Delaware North Delaware North is an American multinational food service and hospitality company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company also operates in the lodging, sporting, airport, gambling, and entertainment industries. The company employs over 5 ...

, a hospitality and gambling company. In 2024, Hochul became Counsel at

, in the firm's white collar defense and investigations practice in New York.

Personal life

Hochul is married to former congresswoman and current New York governor

, who previously served as the county clerk of

Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York (state), New York State. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 954,236. However, in the 2023 census, the Erie County population was 946,147 ...

from 2007 to 2011. They have two children.

References

External links

* Office of the Inspector General (July 2008)
An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the Attorney General
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hochul, William J. 1959 births Living people Lawyers from Buffalo, New York United States attorneys for the Western District of New York First ladies and gentlemen of New York (state) University at Buffalo Law School alumni University of Notre Dame alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century Roman Catholics