The Justice Department's chief of criminal enforcement reached outside the government ranks Thursday to hire a New York corporate defense lawyer to lead a section tasked with investigating and prosecuting white-collar-crime cases, a key role as the Obama administration ramps up its effort to combat financial fraud.
Denis J. McInerney of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP will lead the Justice Department's fraud section, which will be on the front lines as the government brings cases stemming from the financial meltdown.
McInerney was a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District of New York from 1989 to 1994, and in 1994 he also served as an associate independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation.
He has since been in private practice at Davis Polk, representing corporate and individual defendants, including the accounting firm Arthur Andersen on obstruction-of-justice charges related to the Enron scandal. Other clients have included CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS), Siemens AG (SI) and victims of the Bernard Madoff fraud, according to a written bio published by his law firm.
McInerney didn't return a call for comment. He will not officially be named to the post until he completes the necessary administrative and security clearances.
Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, said McInerney had been a leader in white-collar legal practice for two decades.
"He's worked on many of the most sophisticated white-collar cases," Breuer said.
Breuer's decision to hire someone outside of government for the high-profile slot is somewhat unusual, but the criminal chief had said he wanted a dynamic leader who could hit the ground running in brining important financial fraud cases.
The fraud section, he said, "is going to play such an extraordinary role as we move forward."
"We'd always like more resources, but with the resources we have we can and will bring many cases," Breuer said.
Robert Khuzami, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement division, has known McInerney for several years and said the prospective fraud chief has a broad base of experience that will be critical in making prosecutorial decisions.
"This is a coup for the government in the fight against financial fraud and white collar crime," Khuzami said. "Dennis is smart, dedicated and will bring to the job an aggressive yet informed perspective."
-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222; brent.kendall@dowjones.com