New York (State). Attorney General's Office

In 1906, attorneys for the Cayuga Nation (George P. Decker and John Van Voorhis' Sons) filed a memorial with the Commissioners of the Land Office of the state of New York, requesting that cash profits realized by the state in the sale of Cayuga land cessions dating from the treaty of 1789 be paid to the Nation, or that the state's indebtedness to the tribe be acknowledged.

The seeming basis for the creation of these records is Section 65 of Executive Law. This law which dates to the 19th century, specifies that: "The attorney-general shall keep a register of all actions and proceedings prosecuted of defended by him, of all proceedings in relation thereto, and shall deliver the same to his successor."

The attorney general acts affirmatively to protect the public against unfair business practices, investment fraud and phony charitable solicitations; and to protect the environment and the public health against polluters. The office also defends the civil and human rights of New Yorkers and safeguards the rights of wage earners and injured employees.

It is responsible for protecting prospective purchasers of co-ops and condominiums by reviewing the seller's offering literature. Its authority includes the bringing of criminal prosecutions against persons who fix prices or engage in other anti-competitive activity, or who willfully dump toxic chemicals in violation of law, or who engage in other types of specified criminal activity. It may criminally prosecute cases referred by the governor and agency heads, and it supervises the Organized Crime Task Force. The attorney general's office also serves as bond counsel to a number of the State's public authorities.

The Tobacco Institute (TI) consisted of 11 companies that manufactured or marketed cigarettes and other tobacco products. The Institute was incorporated in 1958 as a trade association intended to foster public understanding of smoking and health controversy and to "increase awareness of the historic role of tobacco and its place in the U.S. economy;" to cooperate with governmental agencies and public officials with reference to tobacco industry; to collect and disseminate information related to the use of tobacco published by any federal or state government agency, or from any other non-industry source; to gather information regarding federal/state legislative and administrative developments affecting tobacco industry; and to promote "good will."

The Tobacco Institute Testing Laboratory was set up in 1967 to keep track of Federal Trade Commission's Tar and Nicotine Laboratory and ensure it's work was accurate. In 1974 field offices were established on regional basis in response to efforts to regulate smoking in public places and workplace. The duties of field representatives were to advise the Institute of regional developments in regions, to serve as spokesmen for the Institute; to work/cooperate with local tobacco industries. The Tobacco Observer, a specialty publication on tobacco issues, was established in the 1970s as the Institute's public communications activities were expanded.

The role of the Scientific Division was to support the objectives and mission of the Institute itself, to advise the President, to provide back-up and support for federal and state lobbying activities, and to make such materials as were developed for these purposes available to other divisions. In addition, the members of the Division responded to requests from the wider scientific community to present the Institute's side of the dialogue on smoking and health.

Louis J. Lefkowitz was the 59th attorney general of New York State. He was appointed by the legislature on January 1, 1957 and elected for his first term in November 1958. He served as attorney general until 1978 when he was succeeded by Robert A. Abrams.

Lefkowitz served as an assemblyman in the state legislature (from the 6th Assembly District in New York County) from 1928-1930, and served on the Judiciary Committee. While in the assembly he authored laws extending benefits to public employees, providing greater relief to mothers under the Child Welfare Law, strengthening the Election Law, and prohibiting issuance of injunctions without a hearing in major disputes. He was also a pioneer of civil rights legislation in the state. In the 1940s and 1950s he held a variety of appointed positions at the municipal and state levels, including time as a justice of New York City Municipal Court and Deputy State Tax Commissioner.

As attorney general Lefkowitz favored programs to protect consumers, investors, and businessmen. He created a Civil Rights Bureau, a Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection, a Bureau of Charity Frauds, a Bureau for Syndicates and Cooperatives, and a Charitable Foundations Division in the Department of Law.

Robert Abrams, attorney general of New York from 1979-1993, was born July 4, 1938, and was raised and educated in the Bronx. He was educated in the public schools, Columbia College, and the New York University School of Law. After graduation he was engaged in the private practice of law in New York City.

In 1965 Abrams was elected to the first of three terms in the State Assembly. He served on several committees, including the Judiciary Committee, and sponsored and supported numerous pieces of legislation in the areas of tenant protection, broadening voter registration, election law reform, and education. He authored the first law creating a prison work release program, and his bill to fight child abuse was a landmark measure.

In 1969 Abrams was elected borough president of the Bronx, becoming the youngest person ever elected to that post. As borough president, he was a member of the Board of Estimate, the highest policy-making body of the City of New York. He was a strong advocate of expanding day care programs and giving local communities greater input in municipal decision. He also was an early advocate of bi-lingual education in the public schools. He was reelected in 1973 and 1977.

In 1978 Abrams was elected attorney general of the State of New York. During his tenure, the attorney general's office focused efforts on such issues as environmental pollution, white-collar crime, organized crime, consumer protection, antitrust enforcement, and civil rights.

Charles Phelps, a farmer, and Margaret Wolcott, Phelps' housekeeper, were shot and killed at Phelps' residence on March 21, 1915. Robbery was believed to be the motive for the murders. Two men, Charles Frederick Stielow, Phelps' hired hand, and Nelson Green, Stielow's brother-in-law, were arrested and found guilty for the murders. Stielow was to be executed and Green faced life in prison. Citizens opposed to capital punishment pressured Governor Whitman to commute Stielow's conviction to imprisonment for life. There were also rumors that the accused men were innocent. The governor responded with a commutation in reference to Stielow's original sentence. Whitman believed that if there was a slight chance that Stielow did not commit the crime, a punishment of such severity should be revoked.

In 1916, Erwin King was arrested on an unrelated charge and while in jail confessed that he and an accomplice, Clarence O'Connell, were responsible for the Phelps and Wolcott murders. The district attorney of Orleans County was notified. An investigation was ordered by Governor Whitman in January 1917 to learn whether King and O’Connell were truly guilty of the crime. The prior investigations and trial were costly for the county, resulting in the State assuming responsibility for its duties. All records and tasks were transferred to the State. The investigation became the responsibility of the attorney general.

The New York State attorney general is the head of the Department of Law and the principal enforcer of legal issues within the State of New York. The attorney general works separately from the governor, but the governor may request that the attorney general assume responsibility over legal issues if necessary.

With a detailed description of the case and new evidence available demonstrating Stielow and Green's innocence, the special deputy attorney general could not convince the 1917 Grand Jury to indict King for the murders. Stielow and Green remained incarcerated.