HARRISBURG – The U.S. Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Bruce D. Brandler, former Chief of the Criminal Division, has been appointed U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Brandler was appointed by order of Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, upon the resignation and retirement of former U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith, which became effective on October 1, 2016, according to a news release. Brandler’s appointment is for one hundred twenty days or until a Presidential appointment is made, whichever occurs first.
Brandler’s appointment is effective as of Sunday.
Brandler began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York, where he served from 1981 until 1985. Upon leaving the District Attorney’s Office, he became the Deputy Chief and then the Chief Investigative Counsel of the New York State Senate Committee on Investigations, Taxation and Government Operations from 1985 to 1986.
Brandler was appointed an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in 1986 and was promoted to the position of Senior Litigation Counsel in 1992. In 2014, he became the Chief of the Criminal Division and has served in that capacity until his appointment as U.S. Attorney.
Some of the notable cases Brandler prosecuted as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Senior Litigation Counsel include:
• Tax evasion case against former Luzerne County Judge Arthur Dalessandro.
• Perjury case against former State Representative Frank Serafini.
• Bribery/extortion case against former Lackawanna County Commissioners Robert Cordaro and Anthony Munchak.
• Illegal campaign contribution and fraud case against Renato Mariani, the former President of Empire Sanitary Landfill, Inc.
• Disadvantaged business enterprise fraud case against Joseph Nagle, the former President of Schuylkill Products, Inc.
• Accounting fraud case against Paul Polishan, the former Chief Financial Officer for the Leslie Fay Companies, Inc.
• Environmental crimes case against Chemical Waste Management, Inc. for illegal dumping activities at a Superfund site in Lackawanna County.
Brandler graduated from Stony Brook University in 1978 and received a B.A. in Political Science with honors, and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kapa honor society. He received his law degree in 1981 from the Boston University School of Law.
Brandler lives in Harrisburg.
