New York Adult Entertainment: Former Prosecutor and Regulator Sees Office as the ‘Great Leveler’
In 1999, Mr. Dinallo was hired by Mr. Spitzer to run the attorney general’s investor protection bureau.
Mr. Dinallo said the biggest accomplishment of his years as a public servant remains the 4 1/2 years he worked with Mr. Spitzer. Mr. Spitzer brought cases against Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, Citigroup and other investment houses for faulty analyses, conflicts of interest and other financial irregularities in an era when Mr. Dinallo said federal regulators were “asleep at the switch.” The financial giants paid $1.4 billion in settlements.
“I think my work on Wall Street cases and my reinvigoration of the Martin Act helped transform that office into the powerhouse you see today,” Mr. Dinallo said.
He said Mr. Spitzer, whose 15 months as governor ended in a prostitution scandal in 2008, was a “terrific” attorney general.