Mark J. Lesko (born February 4, 1967) is an American politician and attorney who served as the acting Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division at the

United States Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

. Prior to that, from January 20, 2021, he was named as acting

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York The United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in five New York counties: Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Nassau and Suffolk. , the acting U.S. attorney is Jo ...

. In addition to his career as a prosecutor in the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

, Lesko served as town supervisor of

Brookhaven, New York Brookhaven is a large Suburb, suburban town in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York (state), New York. With a population of 488,497 as of 2022, it is the second most populous town in New York (after Hempstead, New Yo ...

Early life and education

Lesko is a native of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and graduated from

Sidwell Friends School Sidwell Friends School is a private, college preparatory, Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' (), alludi ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he was a quarterback on the varsity football team. In 1994, Lesko received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Georgetown University Law School Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...

, graduating on the dean's list and serving as a notes editor of the ''Georgetown Immigration Law Journal''.

Career

After graduating from law school, Lesko practiced law at firms in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and

He then served as

assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

for 10 years. From 1999 to 2002, he was based in the District of Columbia and the

Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, ...

from 2002 to 2009. As of 2009, Lesko was the Democratic candidate for the open Brookhaven town supervisor position, which was vacated by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Brian X. Foley in the past election. Foley was elected to the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

and a special election is scheduled to be held on March 31, 2009, to decide his successor. Lesko was endorsed by Foley. His opponent was town councilman Republican Tim Mazzei. The special election for town supervisor on March 31, 2009, saw over 14% turnout according to the Suffolk County Board of Elections. Lesko defeated Mazzei by over 4000 votes and he assumed office as the supervisor of Brookhaven. Lesko served as deputy chief of the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

Criminal Division, where he ran the

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

's office on Long Island and managed all federal investigations and prosecutions in Brookhaven. From 2015 to 2018, Lesko was the vice president for economic development of

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

. In 2018, Lesko rejoined the

, first serving as special counsel to the United States Attorney from the Eastern District of New York in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In March 2019, he became first deputy U.S. Attorney under

Richard Donoghue Richard Donoghue is an American attorney and prosecutor who served as the acting United States Deputy Attorney General, United States deputy attorney general from December 2020 to January 2021. Previously, he served as the principal associate dep ...

. On March 19, 2021, after the resignation of U.S. Attorney

Seth DuCharme Seth D. DuCharme is an American attorney who served as the acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. DuCharme appointed by Attorney General William Barr and sworn in on July 10, 2020, succeeding Richard Donoghue, who left ...

, Lesko became acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Personal life

Lesko and his wife Karen reside in East Setauket,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

References

External links

Lesko for Supervisor
official campaign website
The Mark Lesko Campaign
on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

"Supervisor candidates go head to head"
by Kelly Campbell. Times Beacon Record Newspapers. 2009-01-19.
"Mazzei and Lesko step up fundraising efforts
by Rick Brand, William Murphy & James T. Madore. Newsday.com. 2009-01-29.
"Let's Go Lesko!"
by Amy Ellis. The Statesman (Stony Brook University). 2009-02-23.
Long Island Lawyers
more information (Stony Brook University). 2011-04-08. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesko, Mark 1967 births Living people Assistant United States attorneys Georgetown University Law Center alumni Hofstra University people Lawyers from Washington, D.C. New York (state) Democrats People from Brookhaven, New York Sidwell Friends School alumni Town supervisors in New York (state) United States attorneys for the Eastern District of New York Yale University alumni