John Sarcone has spent his four months as Albany’s top federal prosecutor cracking down on street crime. And last month, he himself became a victim.
The interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York said he was attacked by a knife-wielding undocumented man from El Salvador outside an Albany hotel.
Local prosecutors reviewed video footage of the incident, and reduced the charges from attempted murder to menacing, a misdemeanor. The suspect, Saul Morales-Garcia, pleaded guilty last week. Sarcone said he was glad.
“I want this a--hole out of the country. Quick. Period,” Sarcone said. “No. 2, I'm not going to sit there going through a trial in the city of Albany with a jury of his peers who think that it's great for him to be in the city and run around menacing and trying to kill people.”
The case was the latest headline in a brief tenure that Sarcone hopes will be extended. He’s one of at least seven prosecutors nationwide who took office with interim appointments by Attorney General Pam Bondi that expire after 120 days. Federal judges within each district may select a permanent prosecutor, and Sarcone made his case to the judges before his interim term ends on July 15.
Sarcone sees himself as a kind of sheriff for the 32-county upstate district. After five weeks on the job, he said he was considering a lawsuit that would force telecommunications and social media companies to use algorithms to monitor users’ conversations for explicit material.
He’s pitched himself as the solution to rampant street crime and state laws that he says tie the hands of police and prosecutors.
“Victim, after victim, after victim, after victim, and then — me,” Sarcone told reporters six days after the incident. Morales-Garcia, he added, “should never have been on the streets of Albany.”
Sarcone’s outspoken style stands in contrast to other prosecutors. As the chief federal law enforcement officer in a district, U.S. attorneys typically choose their words carefully, mindful that any of their comments could come up in court.
Sarcone’s initial account of the incident with Morales-Garcia may have overstated what happened.
Sarcone said in an interview on Fox News that he spotted Morales-Garcia and had a feeling he “appeared to be up to something crazy.” Morales-Garcia shouted at Sarcone in a foreign language, brandished a knife, and then “lunged” at him, according to an account released by the U.S. attorney’s office.
Sarcone contacted Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, who dispatched deputies to the area. They arrested Morales-Garcia.
“U.S. Attorney John Sarcone’s selfless actions likely saved lives,” Apple said in a statement.
Investigators later reviewed video footage that showed Morales-Garcia didn’t come within 10 feet of Sarcone. After consulting with Sarcone, local prosecutors dropped the felony charge of attempted murder and negotiated a plea bargain. Morales-Garcia, 40, was sentenced Thursday to 90 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to menacing.
“Every victim is entitled to a subjective belief on what they think happened,” Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon said. “Certainly, in the moment I believe that he thought that this guy was trying to kill him. But that's the thing about the light of day is we're all allowed to take a couple beats and have an objective look at stuff.”
Sarcone’s office said Morales-Garcia entered the United States in 2021 after a previous deportation. Under the federal Laken Riley law, undocumented immigrants who are charged with violent crimes are subject to detention and deportation.
Morales-Garcia acknowledged in court that he understood his plea could lead to deportation. His attorney, Vincenzo Sofia, said he expected removal proceedings to begin soon.
“From day one it was pretty clear that the charges against Mr. Morales-Garcia were blown out of proportion,” Sofia said. “And considering our current political climate, I'm just happy we were able to work out something that was fair for him.”
Sarcone said in an interview that he remains distressed by the incident and was glad the matter was resolved. He said his focus is on working with sheriffs and police chiefs around the northern district, which stretches to the Canadian border and includes the cities of Albany, Binghamton, Utica, Syracuse and Plattsburgh.
“These communities have been stripped of a lot of resources,” he said. “The other thing is with the laws that the State Legislature have put in people aren't being held accountable.”
Sarcone met on June 27 with federal judges of the Northern District of New York, seeking a permanent appointment to the position.
Experts said it’s an unusual path, but one that President Donald Trump's administration has used frequently in his second term. Normally the president nominates U.S. attorneys around the country, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
“I have no doubt in my mind that the judges will give me a vote of confidence,” Sarcone said. “I've done everything that I was asked to do by [the Justice Department]. In fact, I've done more than anybody has ever done.”
A clerk to Judge Brenda Sannes, the senior judge in the district, declined to comment on the process. District Clerk John Domurad didn’t return a call seeking comment.
Sarcone had never worked as a prosecutor before he assumed office in March. He was a member of Trump’s election law team in 2016 and unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for New York State attorney general in 2022. Sarcone previously served as general counsel to two labor unions and was a regional representative of the U.S. General Services Administration.
“He does come with a government background, not a prosecutorial background, but he has a good head,” said Albany Law School Professor Michael Hutter. “ I'm not sure what the judges would be doing if they were to reject him. I just don't see any basis to reject him.”
Sarcone said his encounter with Morales-Garcia didn’t come up during his meeting with the judges. Nor did reporting by the Albany Times Union that the prosecutor listed a derelict building as his residence on a police affidavit.
Sarcone has resided in Westchester County, which is outside the northern district. He said he intended to move to the Albany address after it was renovated.
“It was all meant to harm, not me personally, probably, but President Trump, his agenda,” Sarcone said. “And they failed. They failed miserably.”
