First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone welcomed new Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys during a training session in Syracuse on March 3.
The event introduced the participants to the federal criminal process and outlined the responsibilities of Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys. The training covered topics such as drug prosecutions, working with cooperators and informants, firearms prosecutions, Project Safe Childhood, and the use of search warrants.
Deputy Criminal Chief and Narcotics and Firearms Chief Nico Commandeur led sessions on drug cases, informants, and firearms offenses. Michael Gadarian, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, discussed issues related to that initiative, while Senior Litigation Counsel Lisa Fletcher presented on search warrants.
Attendees included Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul DerOhannesian, Jeff Brown, Michael Whalen, and Kevin Cheung; as well as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Berger (Saratoga County), Kathleen Hofman (Montgomery County), Joseph Frandino (Saratoga County), Marissa Olsen (Madison County), Meghan Horton (Saratoga County), Jed Hudson (Onondaga County), Nolan Pitkin (Jefferson County), Manpreet Kaur (Montgomery County), Sam Rodgers (Madison County), Michael Johnson (Herkimer County), and Arne Soldwedel from the Social Security Administration.
Sarcone addressed the group by saying, “We are extremely grateful to have you join the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. We eagerly look forward to the contributions you will make as we work together to uphold our mission and serve the public as civil servants.”
The training is part of ongoing efforts to prepare new attorneys for their roles in federal prosecution within the Northern District of New York.
