Katko, 51 of Camillus, has spent most of his career as a federal prosecutor. Join our. "If I can get gang bangers to cooperate, I can certainly work with the knuckleheads in Washington and help them straighten things out," Katko said. Katko said he used the threat of Brown's sentence to encourage others to talk. Shortly thereafter he became a senior trial attorney in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. John and his wife Robin, a nurse, are college sweethearts and have three sons. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and faced Republican candidate John Katko, a former federal prosecutor, in the general election. In this campaign he has defined his professional success by his role as the leader of the Syracuse Gang Violence Task Force, which used an unusual strategy to bring down more than 100 of Syracuse's most notorious gang members. It's who committed the crime.". I think competition's good," he said. This is Maffei's fifth race for Congress. (AP) — Rep. John Katko is the first Republican to say he’ll vote to impeach President Donald Trump following the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. A Syracuse police detective testified that officers had previously been discouraged from using the word "gang" in reports. Some had already been prosecuted in state court for some of the same acts of violence. 3 GOP Leader, Will Vote to Impeach Trump, âI met his mom this morning and I brought a care package down for him from her,â Katko said. 1991-1995: Staff, United States Securities and Exchange Commission 4. He described visiting one of his former interns -- now a Capitol Police officer -- who had been severely beaten in last Wednesdayâs attack on the Capitol by members of a mob who stormed the building after being egged on by the president. âI was a federal organized crime prosecutor and I did incredibly difficult cases for several decades,â he said. He served as a senior trial attorney on the Mexico–United States border in El Paso, Texas, and was later assigned to San Juan, P… Katko was born in 1962 to Mary Lou O'Connor and Andrew Katko. John Katko among 10 House Republicans who vote to impeach Trump,” Jan. 13, 2021). Congressman John M. Katko was first elected to represent the 24th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2014. Some are unusual. His wife Robin said he earned his sense of humor from his mother, who is a glass-half-full kind of person. He was raised in the Fairmount section of Camillus in the middle of seven children. Representative John Katko, a former federal prosecutor from Syracuse, was the first Republican member of Congress to announce he would vote to impeach President Donald Trump. His sister Cindy and husband David Hoyne own Kitty Hoynes, the Irish pub. m_gallery_pagetype = "embed"; He apologized then and other times for interruptions by saying he has three teenage boys and grew up with five sisters and a brother. The U.S. Constitution outlines its use only when a high crime or misdemeanor has occurred. "It got very sticky, very quickly," he said. "People just say thank you and nice job. "This is where I want to spend my life and I want my kids to spend their life here.". Congress member John Katko from Upstate New York is the first republican to say he’ll back the impeachment effort against Donald Trump by the House. (WSYR-TV) — Rep. John Katko, who represents the Syracuse area and New York’s 24th District, announced that he will vote to impeach President Donald Trump. m_gallery_blog_id = "4456"; … Katko is a member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. "I think a lot of people would be very stressed out and angry and short-tempered. In this capacity, John served as a Senior Trial Attorney on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas and in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Missing BloombergQuint's WhatsApp service? Katko is not a lawmaker with a reputation for clashing with the … "I have a gigantic family here," he told a crowd at a rally in Pompey. In the court room, Katko developed a reputation as a prosecutor who could be trusted. Early in his career as a federal prosecutor, John served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia and with the DOJ’s Criminal Division, Narcotics & Dangerous Drug Section. He worked to keep our community safe as a prosecutor, and is working to … It was, in many ways, an unexpected development. A leader of that gang, Kahari Smith, was sentenced in March to 35 years in prison for gunning down former Henninger High School star athlete Kihary Blue. (AP) — Rep. John Katko is the first Republican to say he’ll vote to impeach President Donald Trump following the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. The task force built a database of gang activity, pushed members to give up information about their colleagues and won federal prison time for gang members found guilty of crimes ranging from drug and gun trafficking to homicide. Each win came with the election of President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Katko served as a federal crime prosecutor in the 90s and was charged with going at the drug cartels. All rights reserved (About Us). The challenge is for Katko to convince voters to trust him for a job in Congress after less than one year as a candidate and with less money to promote his ideas. Moody represented Karo Brown, leader of the Boot Camp gang, who was found guilty in 2004 in connection with at least two murders. In this capacity, John served as a Senior Trial Attorney on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas and in San … I mean, he certainly can get that way when he's focused and has to get stuff done. I wish we didnât have to bring this vote up. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Rep. John Katko. The Brown case is credited as the first time people in Syracuse acknowledged that the city did indeed have a gang problem. Last summer, Katko asked to speak at a meeting of the Syracuse chapter of the National Action Network, a civil rights group affiliated with Al Sharpton. "He's enjoying this whole process," she said. âAnd in this case, when you get rid of all the politics and all the objections and everything else and just say, âWas there sufficient evidence for this to go to trial?â Thereâs just no question my mind there was and thatâs what weâre deciding tonight and tomorrow.â. âI wish we didnât have to do it. You can't look at the color of skin because that's irrelevant. Through his family, Katko can claim partial credit for bringing one of Syracuse's most popular restaurants to town. There is the mounted head of a buck he calls "Uno," which he shot on his wife's family farm. Prior to being elected to represent the people of central New York, Katko spent two decades as a federal prosecutor. "Despite what you think, I feel very comfortable here," Katko said. Katko, who is one of nine Republicans representing districts that Biden won in 2020, said he is bracing for the fallout. (Bloomberg) -- Representative John Katko, a former federal prosecutor from Syracuse, was the first Republican member of Congress to announce he would vote to impeach President Donald Trump. "I was a federal crime prosecutor in the 90s and I was charged with going after the drug cartels," said Katko… Four other Republicans announced Tuesday they would back impeachment. Katko, 51 of Camillus, has spent most of his career as a federal prosecutor. It was just days after a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri shot an unarmed black man. It was, in many ways, an unexpected development. For one thing, said defense attorney Simon Moody, federal courts could stretch the harshest crimes of each defendant to apply to lower-level gang members who played minor roles. Strong.". "But we really focused on the worst of the worst street gangs, people that were responsible for the most violence in the city.". They were married in 1987. He pointed out the shootings he investigated just down the street and acknowledged the neighborhood was the territory of the 110 Gang. While he tries to broadcast that message, there are more words to describe him when he walks away from the camera lights: He thrives on chaos and competition with a dose of comedy. "As a prosecutor, you get to wear the white hat and you get to be the guy coming in and fixing things and taking care of bad guys and putting bad guys away. The New York congressman said in a statement posted to Twitter late Tuesday: “I will vote to impeach this president.” Katko, a former federal prosecutor… Yet, if even a small number of Republicans join with Democrats to impeach Trump during Wednesdayâs vote, he may have played a crucial role in helping lead the way for them to take a step that none did in December 2019. He has run half marathons and competes in 100-mile charity bike rides. Steady. Each loss came in an off year like this one. Bloomberg | Quint is a multiplatform, Indian business and financial news company. In the kitchen is a velvet Elvis - a gift from colleagues when he left work in El Paso, where he was investigating drug cartels across the border in Juarez. When his dog Sadie almost barfed on the floor during an interview, Katko stopped talking and said, "Anything come out?". Rep. Dan Maffei moved to the middle and became a dad, but can he win a 3rd term? If the House votes to impeach Trump, he would face trial in the Senate, likely after he leaves office on Jan. 20. The 24th Congressional District includes all of Onondaga, Cayuga, and Wayne Counties and the western portion of Oswego County. Katko often mentions the risks he and his family have taken in his line of work. I understand that. Heâs the kind of person who gets elected to Congress after a lifetime of public service with the goal of writing laws instead of enforcing them. Experienced and Tested Prior to serving Central New York in Congress, John Katko spent nearly twenty years as a federal prosecutor. m_gallery_title = "Meet John Katko, Republican candidate for 24th Congressional District"; 1988: Graduated from Syracuse University … It was, in many ways, an unexpected development. We combine Bloombergâs global leadership in business and financial news and data, with Quintillion Mediaâs deep expertise in the Indian market and digital news delivery, to provide high quality business news, insights and trends for Indiaâs sophisticated audiences. "It's funny that you would start off with the kids that you put in the RICO, because most of those children or all of them were African-American, so I don't really understand why you feel like what you did was so great. He brought up the threats to his family earlier this year in an unsuccessful effort to stop the newspaper from publishing a story about the time he lost a gun that was later used in a crime. John Michael Katko (/ ˈ k æ t k oʊ /; born November 9, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for New York's 24th congressional district, based in Syracuse, since 2015.A member of the Republican Party, he previously was an Assistant United States Attorney who led the organized crime … "I'm not going to barbecues in his backyard or anything, but from a professional standpoint, he's a man that can be trusted. 2015-Present: U.S. Representative from New York's 24th Congressional District 2. Tom Connellan said. Subscribe to syracuse.com. The New York congressman said in a statement posted to Twitter late Tuesday: “I will vote to impeach this president.” Katko, a former federal prosecutor… âObviously, Iâm going against my party and Iâm going against my president so Iâm sure thereâs going to be repercussions but you know what, you got to do the right thing,â Katko said. He also serves on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/21). More than once, he said people have told him he couldn't do something and it motivated him to do better. Congressman John M. Katko was first elected to represent the 24th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2014, and re-elected for a second term in November 2016. Katko said. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. “We need to wake up,” he said. “I had a fundamental understanding then, and I do now, that the cartels … Rep. Katko … In 2000, Katko left a pistol on the floor of his Chevy pickup truck after parking in front of a church. The two were working in Washington when Katko suggested they move a restaurant into space for sale in Armory Square. When Katko moved into his temporary campaign office, he had the landlord install a shower so he could continue to ride his bike 15 miles to work. Katko took the podium in front of an audience of about six people at the Fountain of Life Church on South Avenue. Katko said he leaned on his experience prosecuting organized crime to come to his decision on impeachment, something that wasnât difficult after he analyzed the facts, though he is bracing himself for the fallout. He met wife Robin Gibson, from Steuben County, at Niagara University. m_gallery_type = "photo"; Gallery: Meet John Katko, Republican candidate for 24th Congressional District, SYRACUSE, N.Y. - John Katko's official campaign slogan in his race to unseat U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei is "Solid. House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member John Katko and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy Monday led a congressional delegation to the U.S.-Mexico border to meet with border patrol agents and assess the situation on the ground. Katko and others employed a set of racketeering laws designed for the Mafia to argue that street gangs had created criminal enterprises based on geography to claim neighborhoods. One said, however, he isn't sure how those skills translate to bringing people together in Washington. The federal government also had at its disposal the resources of the DOJ, the FBI, the ATF and the DEA. A high school teacher said he was not applying himself and he went on to graduate cum laude from college. Read More: Liz Cheney, No. He worked to keep our community safe as a prosecutor, and is working … Susan Brooks-Wikipedia. Katko was a former prosecutor at the Justice Department who prosecuted drug cartels while living in El Paso in the 1990’s. Contact Michelle Breidenbach anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-3186. The use of RICO laws to prosecute gangs was unusual and unpopular among those on the prison end of the argument. 3 House Republican and a daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney who has at times clashed with Trump. The attack on the Capitol led the former federal prosecutor to reverse support for the President. Katko, of New York, was the first Republican to publicly announce that he would back the impeachment proceedings. One woman stood up. Katko released a statement following their visit:. I commend Rep. John Katko for standing up for law and the Constitution (“Rep. m_gallery_json = "https://blog.syracuse.com/photogallery/4456/16160767.json"; That vulnerability has put the race for the 24th Congressional District on the most-watched list in Washington. Fact-first journalism when you need it most. And the last time the House considered Trumpâs impeachment, in 2019, he voted no. Katko served as a federal crime prosecutor in the 90s and was charged with going at the drug … “As a federal organized crime prosecutor … While he was prosecuting an eight-person murder in Puerto Rico, he said he sent his wife and son back to Syracuse to live with his parents for eight months. Meet John Katko, Republican candidate for 24th Congressional District, Michelle Breidenbach | mbreidenbach@syracuse.com, employed a set of racketeering laws designed for the Mafia. But for the most part, he's whistling around and riding his bike.". He said his family has taught him to be comfortable in chaos. publishing a story about the time he lost a gun, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recognized Katko, Kahari Smith, was sentenced in March to 35 years in prison. It was stolen and later used in a shootout robbery. What he says, he does," Moody said. Ask Katko if he has ever failed at something and he has to stop and think. "He had an open-file policy," said James McGinty, a lawyer who defended accused gang members in 2003. I don't think so. He is a 1980 graduate of Bishop Ludden High School. But Iâm duty bound to to do the right thing and thatâs what Iâm doing. Several other members of the delegation also spoke after McCarthy to detail what they learned, including Rep. John Katko, N.Y., the GOP leader of the House Homeland Security Committee who had served as an organized crime prosecutor in the region. "You're going to have people that are not going to be happy about it because people are going to jail," Syracuse Police Sgt. The late Kihary Blue (left) of Henninger High School, jumps forward for a shoot and collides with Stefan Thompson of CBA as Mike Kitts of CBA defends behind during the first quarter of the game at CBA high school in 2009. If the feds charged someone, it was likely they had spent as much as two years building a case and collecting evidence, Moody said. He believes that kind of negotiating experience suits him for a job in Washington with political parties so split only 2.1 percent of 8,546 introduced bills are on their way to becoming law. I get that.". Katko entered private practice at a firm in Washington, D.C.. He brought dozens of trophies from work and life to decorate the new office. "I just love competition. In Congress, he serves on the House Homeland Security Committee as Ranking Member of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation subcommittee. Syracuse area Congressman John Katko was the first Reublican to announce his support for an article of impeachment against President Trump last night. We just can't. Experienced and Tested Prior to serving Central New York in Congress, John Katko spent nearly twenty years as a federal prosecutor. Even some defense attorneys who lost cases to Katko praise him as trustworthy, honest, a straight shooter. "It's not so much about winning. Katko is not a lawmaker with a reputation for clashing with the … U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recognized Katko at a ceremony last month, in part for his role in fighting the V-NOT gang. U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei and his challenger Republican candidate Ann Marie Buerkle held one of their series of debates at Time Warner Cable October 13, 2010. He said he has only lost one case out of more than two dozen major gang cases. (Bloomberg) -- Representative John Katko, a former federal prosecutor from Syracuse, was the first Republican member of Congress to announce he would vote to impeach President Donald Trump. "The reason I feel comfortable is because I've spent the last 15 years of my life, since 1998, trying to do something to make the city a better place.". âHeâs from Syracuse and itâs profoundly affected me. ", Katko responded: "When people are shooting people, we cannot let that stand. His earliest release date is listed as 2039 on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. "Whatever he had, you got to see and this put you in a better position to advise your clients as to how good or bad a defense you could make out for the person.". © 2021 Advance Local Media LLC. “It cannot be … He then spent 20 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Department of Justice. Katko mentions his family in almost every conversation. Katko worked in Washington for the firm Howrey & Simon, then went into public service at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and later the Department of Justice. The 24th Congressional District includes all of Onondaga, Cayuga, and Wayne Counties and the western portion of Oswego County. A former federal prosecutor, Katko said he looked at the facts of the siege, which began as lawmakers were working to certify the presidential election results. They have three sons, Sean, Liam and Logan. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. 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