Salvatore R. Martoche

Salvatore R. Martoche - (Born October 12, 1940)(Buffalo, NY) was designated to serve on the Appellate Division Fourth Department of the New York State Supreme Court on May 3, 2004 by Gov. George Pataki. He has been a New York State Supreme Court Justice since January 2000. Justice Martoche was U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York from 1982 to 1986. An assistant secretary of the U.S. Labor Department under President Ronald Reagan from 1986 to 1988, Martoche also oversaw all law enforcement operations in the U.S. Treasury Department as an assistant secretary under both Presidents Reagan and Bush from 1988 to 1990. Before leaving federal service, Martoche was a key official involved in correcting the country’s savings and loan industry scandals of the 1980s, serving as the acting director of the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Prior to his appointment to Supreme Court, he was in private law practice in Buffalo, New York and served as one of six commissioners of the state Commission of Investigation, which investigates organized crime and public corruption statewide. He also served as a public defender and was in private practice for over twenty years before becoming United States Attorney. One of his most celebrated cases served as the basis of the book and movie, "Hide in Plain Sight." He is widely credited with significant reforms in the Federal Witness Protection Program.

Justice Martoche is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; the Alexander Hamilton Award (award of highest distinction given by the secretary of Treasury); Buffalo News Outstanding Citizen; and the LaSalle Medal and Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater Canisius College. As of 2007, Justice Martoche and his wife Mary Dee, an attorney, live in Buffalo.