Overview
- The state grievance committee said in letters shared Monday that it found “sufficient basis” to conclude John A. Sarcone committed professional misconduct and that it had taken “appropriate action.”
- State law keeps attorney discipline records sealed unless an appeals court issues a public order, so the committee did not disclose the conduct it sustained or any sanction.
- Complaints from Campaign for Accountability and press‑freedom groups accused Sarcone of exaggerating a knife encounter, listing a boarded‑up Albany building as his residence, and retaliating against the Times Union.
- U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield ruled in January that Sarcone was unlawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney, which voided subpoenas his office sent to New York Attorney General Letitia James’s team.
- Sarcone remains first assistant in the Northern District as appeals over his appointment play out, and watchdogs say courts and the public need a full accounting.