In September 2013, the New York State White Collar Crime Task Force issued a report that could herald significant change for the future of complex white-collar prosecutions at the state level. The Task Force proposed a sweeping revision of the New York state criminal laws that would allow state prosecutors to bring many white-collar prosecutions on equal footing with federal prosecutors. These changes include, among other things, revising grand jury procedure, amending New York’s accomplice corroboration rule, and amending and gradating various penal law statutes.
The Task Force, headed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen M. Rice, proposed the first major revision to New York white-collar criminal law since 1986.1 Notably, the Task Force included both prosecutors from throughout the state and a number of distinguished criminal defense attorneys.
