Leveling the Playing Field

Photograph by Peter Hapak for TIME

The history of New York crime fighters' confronting corruption is a long and distinguished one. Think Teddy Roosevelt, who as New York City police commissioner vowed to fight "vile crime and hideous vice." As a special prosecutor, Thomas Dewey tackled racketeering and corrupt politicians in the 1930s. More recently, Rudy Giuliani took on insider trading and organized crime, while Mary Jo White, the first female U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, relentlessly pursued terrorists, including those responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In each case, they stood for principles that transcended the local--and all of them but...

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