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| For Loretta Lynch, Fifa is just the latest in a string of tough targets | For Loretta Lynch, Fifa is just the latest in a string of tough targets |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A few hours after the stunning arrests of Fifa officials at a five-star Zurich hotel early on Wednesday, the spotlight of the world’s media pivoted to an office thousands of miles away in Brooklyn. | A few hours after the stunning arrests of Fifa officials at a five-star Zurich hotel early on Wednesday, the spotlight of the world’s media pivoted to an office thousands of miles away in Brooklyn. |
| Everyone was impatient to hear from the woman, the daughter of a Baptist minister from the southern US state of North Carolina, who had set it all in motion. | Everyone was impatient to hear from the woman, the daughter of a Baptist minister from the southern US state of North Carolina, who had set it all in motion. |
| Years of allegations of corruption inside world soccer’s organising body, without any serious comeuppance, had led to a sense that the sport’s most powerful dons were all but untouchable. | Years of allegations of corruption inside world soccer’s organising body, without any serious comeuppance, had led to a sense that the sport’s most powerful dons were all but untouchable. |
| But suddenly, news crews were hanging on every word from Loretta Lynch, the first African American woman to hold office as US attorney general. Standing barely five feet tall, amid a group of square-jawed, hulking white men, she spoke with utter calmness and surety. | But suddenly, news crews were hanging on every word from Loretta Lynch, the first African American woman to hold office as US attorney general. Standing barely five feet tall, amid a group of square-jawed, hulking white men, she spoke with utter calmness and surety. |
| “They were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest. Instead they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and enrich themselves,” she said as she laid out 47 corruption charges against nine top Fifa officials and five marketing executives. | “They were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest. Instead they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and enrich themselves,” she said as she laid out 47 corruption charges against nine top Fifa officials and five marketing executives. |
| Related: Loretta Lynch: level-headed lawyer who flies beneath the radar | Related: Loretta Lynch: level-headed lawyer who flies beneath the radar |
| If the accused, now facing extradition to the US, didn’t know much about Lynch before this week, they will not be comforted to learn that she built her reputation as the top federal prosecutor for the eastern district of New York by going after the biggest – and most difficult to catch – criminals. | |
| In the past Lynch, 56, has won cases against international sex trafficking rings, terrorists and mafia bosses with a steady determination which has won praise even from courtroom adversaries. | In the past Lynch, 56, has won cases against international sex trafficking rings, terrorists and mafia bosses with a steady determination which has won praise even from courtroom adversaries. |
| “Loretta might be the only lawyer in America who battles mobsters and drug lords and terrorists, and still has the reputation for being a charming ‘people person’,” President Barack Obama said in nominating Lynch last November to replace Eric Holder as attorney general. | “Loretta might be the only lawyer in America who battles mobsters and drug lords and terrorists, and still has the reputation for being a charming ‘people person’,” President Barack Obama said in nominating Lynch last November to replace Eric Holder as attorney general. |
| Securing the role even after the president’s nomination was not plain sailing – but then, Lynch has been winning through in difficult situations all her life. | Securing the role even after the president’s nomination was not plain sailing – but then, Lynch has been winning through in difficult situations all her life. |
| After been given the nod by Obama, she was embroiled in a nasty partisan fight, with Republicans out to spite the president and denying her a confirmation vote for six months – a record for a top cabinet nominee. Frustration over the delay grew so sharp that Dick Durbin, a senior Democrat in the Senate, said she had been “asked to sit in the back of the bus” – a reference to the racial segregation laws that prevailed in the American south of Lynch’s childhood. | After been given the nod by Obama, she was embroiled in a nasty partisan fight, with Republicans out to spite the president and denying her a confirmation vote for six months – a record for a top cabinet nominee. Frustration over the delay grew so sharp that Dick Durbin, a senior Democrat in the Senate, said she had been “asked to sit in the back of the bus” – a reference to the racial segregation laws that prevailed in the American south of Lynch’s childhood. |
| She used that time, it turns out, to quietly continue her work in the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn, which years earlier had received a tip about corruption inside Fifa from a local FBI office that had been working on a Russian organized crime case. | She used that time, it turns out, to quietly continue her work in the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn, which years earlier had received a tip about corruption inside Fifa from a local FBI office that had been working on a Russian organized crime case. |
| Abner Louima and the career-making case | Abner Louima and the career-making case |
| Loretta Lynch was born on 21 May 1959 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the middle child of a librarian mother and a Baptist minister father. Her ancestors had made their way generations earlier from the slave plantations of Mississippi, through Georgia, to the mountains along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. | Loretta Lynch was born on 21 May 1959 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the middle child of a librarian mother and a Baptist minister father. Her ancestors had made their way generations earlier from the slave plantations of Mississippi, through Georgia, to the mountains along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. |
| Her father, Lorenzo Lynch, now 82, spoke to the Guardian by telephone and described how she grew up listening to stories he would tell of the Jim Crow segregation laws that endured for a century in the south after the end of the American civil war. “I was raised in a segregated society,” he said. “I didn’t sit at the front of the bus because our father taught us: ‘Do not accept segregation in your heart. But you have to accept it physically. Because if you can just hold on, if you can just survive, the day will come when that will not be a battle.’” | Her father, Lorenzo Lynch, now 82, spoke to the Guardian by telephone and described how she grew up listening to stories he would tell of the Jim Crow segregation laws that endured for a century in the south after the end of the American civil war. “I was raised in a segregated society,” he said. “I didn’t sit at the front of the bus because our father taught us: ‘Do not accept segregation in your heart. But you have to accept it physically. Because if you can just hold on, if you can just survive, the day will come when that will not be a battle.’” |
| Loretta Lynch’s girlhood was marked by precocity – and confrontations with a racist edifice that seemed to want to quash it. As a six-year-old, she did so well on a school entrance exam, family history has it, that teachers accused her of cheating and made her take the test again. The second time, she did even better. Lynch had the best grades in her high school, but because she was black, school administrators balked at recognizing her as class valedictorian and made her split the honor with two other students. | Loretta Lynch’s girlhood was marked by precocity – and confrontations with a racist edifice that seemed to want to quash it. As a six-year-old, she did so well on a school entrance exam, family history has it, that teachers accused her of cheating and made her take the test again. The second time, she did even better. Lynch had the best grades in her high school, but because she was black, school administrators balked at recognizing her as class valedictorian and made her split the honor with two other students. |
| “She was real quiet about it,” Lorenzo Lynch said of the valedictorian episode. “I never heard about it from Loretta – I knew about it from some black teachers who secretly brought it to my attention. | “She was real quiet about it,” Lorenzo Lynch said of the valedictorian episode. “I never heard about it from Loretta – I knew about it from some black teachers who secretly brought it to my attention. |
| “She simply adjusted fine, and worked part-time as a student at some of these fast-food places in the afternoons, and one summer for me at White Rock Baptist church.” | “She simply adjusted fine, and worked part-time as a student at some of these fast-food places in the afternoons, and one summer for me at White Rock Baptist church.” |
| She was, though, hatching big plans. She turned down a full scholarship to the University of North Carolina in favor of Harvard, where she earned an undergraduate and then a law degree. Within 10 years, she was running the Long Island arm of the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn, New York, where she made a name prosecuting local officials for soliciting bribes and favors in exchange for building permits. | She was, though, hatching big plans. She turned down a full scholarship to the University of North Carolina in favor of Harvard, where she earned an undergraduate and then a law degree. Within 10 years, she was running the Long Island arm of the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn, New York, where she made a name prosecuting local officials for soliciting bribes and favors in exchange for building permits. |
| Then Lynch took on a case that would cast her in the national spotlight for the first time. | Then Lynch took on a case that would cast her in the national spotlight for the first time. |
| Abner Louima, a 30-year-old Haitian immigrant, was arrested outside a Brooklyn nightclub on a summer night in 1997. Police beat him until his teeth broke and his eyes were swollen closed. Then, in the bathroom of a precinct house, with his hands cuffed behind his back and his pants down, he was sodomized by a cop with a broken broomstick. He spent months in the hospital. | Abner Louima, a 30-year-old Haitian immigrant, was arrested outside a Brooklyn nightclub on a summer night in 1997. Police beat him until his teeth broke and his eyes were swollen closed. Then, in the bathroom of a precinct house, with his hands cuffed behind his back and his pants down, he was sodomized by a cop with a broken broomstick. He spent months in the hospital. |
| The ensuing public outcry dominated national media for weeks and set up a moment of national reckoning over policing and racism. At the center of the storm, tapped to lead the government’s prosecution of five New York City police officers involved in the incident, was a then-40-year-old Loretta Lynch. | The ensuing public outcry dominated national media for weeks and set up a moment of national reckoning over policing and racism. At the center of the storm, tapped to lead the government’s prosecution of five New York City police officers involved in the incident, was a then-40-year-old Loretta Lynch. |
| Kenneth P Thompson, the current Brooklyn district attorney, was a junior prosecutor working under Lynch at the time. | Kenneth P Thompson, the current Brooklyn district attorney, was a junior prosecutor working under Lynch at the time. |
| “That case was one of the most high-profile police brutality cases in the history of New York City,” Thompson said. “Many people in the community were outraged, and marched over the Brooklyn Bridge, thousands of people, just before the trial, demanding justice … And so we had to get justice for Abner Louima in a very difficult context. We had indicted five New York City police officers. And Loretta Lynch never once lost her composure. | “That case was one of the most high-profile police brutality cases in the history of New York City,” Thompson said. “Many people in the community were outraged, and marched over the Brooklyn Bridge, thousands of people, just before the trial, demanding justice … And so we had to get justice for Abner Louima in a very difficult context. We had indicted five New York City police officers. And Loretta Lynch never once lost her composure. |
| “That was a very difficult trial. It was contentious, there were a lot of pressures put on us, and Loretta was unflappable. She was focused on getting the job done.” | “That was a very difficult trial. It was contentious, there were a lot of pressures put on us, and Loretta was unflappable. She was focused on getting the job done.” |
| Lynch obtained convictions of four officers and sent one, Justin Volpe, who admitted attacking Louima, to prison for 30 years. | Lynch obtained convictions of four officers and sent one, Justin Volpe, who admitted attacking Louima, to prison for 30 years. |
| A budding international portfolio | A budding international portfolio |
| Lynch ran the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn from 1999–2001 and again from 2010–2015 (as a White House appointee, she was displaced during the George W Bush years). In the role, Lynch decided which cases to pursue and directed her team of 178 federal prosecutors in how to pursue them. | Lynch ran the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn from 1999–2001 and again from 2010–2015 (as a White House appointee, she was displaced during the George W Bush years). In the role, Lynch decided which cases to pursue and directed her team of 178 federal prosecutors in how to pursue them. |
| She displayed a knack for big cases with an international bent. Some of the cases, notably sex trafficking cases that broke up rings operating out of Mexico and Central America, required coordination with international authorities on the extradition of suspects living abroad. In other cases, such as a $1.92bn settlement with HSBC over money laundering from Iran and elsewhere, Lynch seized on money flowing through banks on American soil to claim jurisdiction and attack a broader criminal enterprise. | She displayed a knack for big cases with an international bent. Some of the cases, notably sex trafficking cases that broke up rings operating out of Mexico and Central America, required coordination with international authorities on the extradition of suspects living abroad. In other cases, such as a $1.92bn settlement with HSBC over money laundering from Iran and elsewhere, Lynch seized on money flowing through banks on American soil to claim jurisdiction and attack a broader criminal enterprise. |
| Lynch’s tenure was not without its detractors. She has been criticised for agreeing to cash settlements with multinational banks instead of pushing for criminal convictions. In July 2014, her office was part of a $7bn settlement with Citigroup for misleading investors about securities containing toxic mortgages – with no criminal charges materializing. | Lynch’s tenure was not without its detractors. She has been criticised for agreeing to cash settlements with multinational banks instead of pushing for criminal convictions. In July 2014, her office was part of a $7bn settlement with Citigroup for misleading investors about securities containing toxic mortgages – with no criminal charges materializing. |
| Lynch’s record of successes as US attorney, however, is long. In 2011 she presided over the largest mafia bust in New York City history, bringing charges against 127 members and associates of seven organized crime families. She scored convictions in multiple international terrorism cases, including a 2012 case in which an al-Qaida operative was said to be days away from a suicide bombing attack on the city subway system. She sent gang members to prison for murder and prosecuted a Long Island congressman for corruption and fraud. | Lynch’s record of successes as US attorney, however, is long. In 2011 she presided over the largest mafia bust in New York City history, bringing charges against 127 members and associates of seven organized crime families. She scored convictions in multiple international terrorism cases, including a 2012 case in which an al-Qaida operative was said to be days away from a suicide bombing attack on the city subway system. She sent gang members to prison for murder and prosecuted a Long Island congressman for corruption and fraud. |
| Lynch built an especially strong record on prosecuting sex trafficking, running a unit that delivered more than 55 indictments in human trafficking cases and rescued more than 110 victims, including at least 20 minors. | Lynch built an especially strong record on prosecuting sex trafficking, running a unit that delivered more than 55 indictments in human trafficking cases and rescued more than 110 victims, including at least 20 minors. |
| “If you look nationally to find a US attorney who was as thoughtful and progressive in prosecuting human trafficking cases, I don’t think you could find one,” said Anne Milgram, a former attorney general of New Jersey and senior fellow at the New York University law school. | “If you look nationally to find a US attorney who was as thoughtful and progressive in prosecuting human trafficking cases, I don’t think you could find one,” said Anne Milgram, a former attorney general of New Jersey and senior fellow at the New York University law school. |
| The Fifa case is as big as they come. The soccer federation’s global structure and immense wealth and power make it uniquely difficult to prosecute. For its ability to fight back in and outside court, Fifa rivals the big banks, whose officers Lynch so far has not managed to throw in prison. In addition, Lynch has indicted the Fifa officials for alleged crimes going back decades; the case is likely to drag out for years. | The Fifa case is as big as they come. The soccer federation’s global structure and immense wealth and power make it uniquely difficult to prosecute. For its ability to fight back in and outside court, Fifa rivals the big banks, whose officers Lynch so far has not managed to throw in prison. In addition, Lynch has indicted the Fifa officials for alleged crimes going back decades; the case is likely to drag out for years. |
| “This is the beginning of our effort, not the end,” Kelly Curries, Lynch’s replacement in Brooklyn, said at a news conference on Wednesday. “We are looking into individuals and entities in a variety of countries.” | “This is the beginning of our effort, not the end,” Kelly Curries, Lynch’s replacement in Brooklyn, said at a news conference on Wednesday. “We are looking into individuals and entities in a variety of countries.” |
| It looks like a long fight ahead. Lynch is good at those. | It looks like a long fight ahead. Lynch is good at those. |