Washington, D.C. — Today, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) announced the release of The Anticorruption Manual: A Guide for State Prosecutors. The book, which provides an overview of prosecuting corruption in the United States, is the first publication in 30 years dedicated to guiding prosecutors who investigate and charge public corruption crime. It is also the first of its kind to address the needs of state and local corruption prosecutors.

The book is now available for purchase today directly from the NAAG website, as well as Amazon.com.

The Anticorruption Manual: A Guide for State Prosecutors:

• Provides tools and tips for prosecutors initiating or managing a corruption investigation.
• Outlines the mechanics of real-world corruption cases, written by prosecutors who investigated and charged such cases.
• Highlights the ethical, statutory, and constitutional limits and obligations most likely to arise in corruption prosecutions, including how to balance the public’s interest in a case with the defendant’s right to a fair trial.
• Explains various civil and administrative remedies that may be effective in corruption prosecutions.

“With The Anticorruption Manual, NAAG has created not just a critical tool for investigators and prosecutors on the front lines of tackling public corruption, but the seminal resource in this area for anyone wanting to dig into this entrenched societal problem and the available law enforcement responses to it. It’s a nuts-and-bolts instruction manual for every stage of investigation and prosecution, an explanation of the reasons that different kinds of corruption exist and persist, and a guide for how to approach the toughest strategic challenges of criminal prosecutions in this area, all rolled into one. The Manual should be on the bookshelf of every public corruption prosecutor in the country.” – Jennifer Rodgers Lecturer-in-Law, Columbia Law School, and Former Federal Prosecutor.

“Of course all prosecutors should read The Anticorruption Manual—but also policymakers, advocates, academics, and others who need to understand how the system works in the real world.  Laws get passed and rules are adopted, but the experiences accessibly conveyed in this book provide valuable insights into the challenges of cracking down on corruption and the tools available to overcome them. In describing the complexities involved in these cases, like the politics of prosecuting popular public figures, authors provide the necessary context to connect the dots between well-crafted storytelling and strategic and tactical takeaways for practitioners. We, as advocates, often hear that one significant hurdle to more prosecutions of corruption is a lack of knowledge and training available to investigators and prosecutors to successfully take on these cases.  This book is a serious step toward changing that dynamic. It is a timely and important look at both the need and the methods to hold corrupt actors accountable.” – Gary Kalman, Director of Transparency International’s U.S. Office

This book is a dedicated guide for state and local prosecutors who investigate and charge public corruption crime within the United States and abroad. It also is a valuable read for law school professors, law students, and citizens who are interested in understanding the role prosecutors can play in the fight against corruption.

About the Editors:

Amie N. Ely, Director, NAGTRI Center for Ethics and Public Integrity, National Association of Attorneys General. Ely is a graduate of Oberlin College and Cornell Law School. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Stephen C. Robinson in the Southern District of New York, and for the Honorable Richard C. Wesley on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Following her clerkships, Ely spent nearly seven years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she prosecuted hundreds of defendants, was lead or co-counsel in more than ten trials, and represented the Government in over a dozen appeals to the Second Circuit.

Marissa G. Walker, Program Counsel, NAGTRI Center for Ethics and Public Integrity, National Association of Attorneys General. Walker is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and Cornell Law School. She clerked for the Honorable David O. Carter in the Central District of California and worked in private practice in the areas of securities defense litigation and white-collar criminal defense.

Contributors:

Chapter authors include former and current federal, state, and local prosecutors, as well as law professors. Contributors include:

Stacy Aronowitz, Brenda Bauges, Wes Cheng, Michael Chu, Carrie Cohen, Dan Cort, Alice Dery, Katie Duhig, Robert Falin, Steve Grimes, Peter Henning, Michelle Henry, Johnjerica Hodge, Christine Hoffman, Brian Kane, Peter Lee, Beverly Ma, Ann Ratnayake Macy, Howard Master, Thomas McGoldrick, Glen McGorty, Dave Navarro, Victor Olds, Jeff Perconte, Anthony Picione, Daniel Pietragallo, Rebecca Ricigliano, Jessica Roth, Rob Shapiro, Darrin Sobin, Steve Solow, Kevin Steele, and Tim VanderGeisen.

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