In a private governmental office that does not even confirm or deny who it’s investigating, U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy shared some rare insights into “one of the hardest” professional moments in his career that dampened morale: the fallout from his predecessor Rachael Rollins’ ethical violations, as uncovered by a Department of Justice investigation.
“It was a very significant blow to the office when that report came out. And, you know, I’m incredibly proud of the way this team responded. I think I’ve said in the past the office very quickly rebounded from that, and that’s due to some really amazing senior leaders in the office,” Levy said. “The report was not about the work of the office, and the ability of all of our prosecutors and our staff to quickly refocus on the critical work we have to do — because all the problems in Massachusetts didn’t go on pause.”
Rollins, once a trailblazer in the criminal justice world, abruptly resigned in spring 2023 amid ethics violations. A federal report found that she had leaked information from the office in an attempt to sway the election of the next Suffolk district attorney — her former post.
Now her replacement, Levy, is resigning before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, as is customary when a candidate from the opposing party wins the election so the incoming president can make their own nominations to the office. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Murrane will take on the role of acting U.S. attorney when he steps down on January 17.
Levy held a wide-ranging briefing with reporters Wednesday, taking questions on what could change in the office under the next administration and looking back on what’s happened during his nearly two years in the top job. Major revelations under Levy include an investigation into civil rights violations by the city of Worcester and its police department as well as charges against a former Stoughton police officer who allegedly sexually abused and killed a young woman.
But, when it comes to the Trump administration and potential politicization of the office, Levy said: “I don’t have a crystal ball of what’s going to happen.”
“I’m confident the next leader of this office will come in, and he or she will be briefed on the work of the office. And, you know, protecting children from being sexually exploited on the internet, protecting elderly from being scammed, or keeping our most dangerous technologies out of the world’s most dangerous hands. Going after public corruption. Those are bipartisan issues,” he added. “So, I think the critical work of this office is going to continue no matter who’s sitting in the seat.”
The state office of the U.S. attorney has limited independent authority and often takes its directives from the federal Justice Department.
President-elect Trump has promised, on the first day of his administration, to start the process of deporting millions of immigrants who are living in the United States without legal status. Levy, when asked about the role that the U.S. attorney of Massachusetts’ office might play in that process, responded the office’s role is to prosecute federal crimes that occur within Massachusetts — and some of those are related to immigration offenses.
“Without knowing all the permutations, what might happen, our office could be involved if certain steps are taken by the next administration, and they’re challenged in court and they’re challenged in the district of Massachusetts,” he said. “Beyond that, I’m not sure exactly what role our office would be playing.”
Among major cases over the last two years, just last month, a man from the Dominican Republic was arrested just weeks ago on gun and drug charges. He was allegedly keeping over $1 million worth of fentanyl in a state-run shelter, spurring Gov. Maura Healey to order safety inspections of all shelters in Massachusetts.
Wednesday morning, Levy’s office announced federal charges again him. Levy explained that his office decided to bring those charges on the federal level because they will result in heavier penalties.
Asked to reflect back on his time in the office, there was no single case that he would point out as the highlight of his career — but, among others, Levy emphasized the significance of bringing charges against the consulting company McKinsey for devising a marketing strategy that boosted the sales of highly addictive opioids. He also took pride in the indictment of Matthew Farwell, the 38-year-old former Stoughton policeman who is charged with killing Sandra Birchmore by strangulation and staging her body and apartment to make it appear as if she had committed suicide.
“If you walk the halls ... talk to people, you know, the cases with victims are the ones that that have us showing up every day,” he said.
At the end of the roundtable with reporters, the discussion turned personal, with Levy marveling aloud about his life trajectory.
“My grandparents came to this country speaking no English. My grandmother grew up no plumbing in a home in Poland. My grandfather was worried that I was going to lose my job if my law firm found out I was Jewish,” Levy said. “So, the journey I’ve been on — I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve the public and to lead this office.”
Levy’s permanent replacement will be nominated by President-elect Trump in the coming months.
