Feds Get New Top Cop

The Western District of New York has a new top lawman. James P. Kennedy, Jr. has been named Acting United States Attorney following the departure of William J. Hochul, Jr.

Kennedy, a native of Western New York, brings a wealth of experience to the position. A Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude graduate of Hamilton College, Kennedy attended the Buffalo Law School where he graduated cum laude in 1988, having served as editor of the Buffalo Law Review.

With a storied career in law enforcement, Kennedy has worked as the Confidential Law Assistant to the late Honorable Michael F. Dillon and Honorable M. Dolores Denman, Presiding Justices, New York States Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department. He was hired by then United States Attorney Dennis Vacco to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney in 1992.

Kennedy has a long history of prosecuting high-profile cases, including narcotics, violent crime, and police corruption cases. He has also served as the District’s first full-time Appellate Chief, briefing and arguing cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City.

‘Our Office has a tradition of excellence. I intend on preserving that tradition and bringing to justice those who detract from the safety and quality of life in our District,’ Kennedy stated. He pledged to work tirelessly with the many hard-working and talented attorneys and support staff who serve in this Office not only to continue their crime-fighting efforts but to develop creative and innovative solutions to the problems with which they are confronted.

Kennedy lives on Grand Island with his wife Stephanie, who works in the Amherst School District. They have two children, a daughter, Bridget, who attends the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland, and a son, Jack, who attends Davidson College, in Davidson, North Carolina.

Kennedy has received numerous awards and honors, including the Attorney’s General’s John Marshall Award, one of the Department of Justice’s highest awards. He looks forward to working with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to serve the people of the community in which he was born and raised.

Contact: Barbara Burns at (716) 843-5817 or FAX (716) 551-3051 for more information.

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