Burton B. Roberts
| Burton Bennett Roberts | |
|---|---|
| Bronx County District Attorney | |
| Preceded by | Isidore Dollinger |
| Succeeded by | Mario Merola |
| Bronx County District Attorney (acting) | |
|
In office September 18, 1968 – November 7, 1968 |
|
| Bronx County District Attorney | |
|
In office November 7, 1968 – December 31, 1972 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Burton Bennett Roberts July 25, 1922 New York City United States |
| Died | October 24, 2010 Riverdale, the Bronx, New York |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Alma mater |
New York University New York University Law School |
Burton Bennett Roberts (July 25, 1922 – October 24, 2010) served as Bronx district attorney before his election as a judge, later serving as the chief administrative judge for the New York Supreme Court in the Bronx until his retirement in 1998 after 25 years on the bench. His no-nonsense manner as a prosecutor and in court made him the model for the character Myron Kovitsky in the 1987 book The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.
Roberts was born on July 25, 1922, in New York City and earned his undergraduate degree in 1943 at New York University. He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II, where he served in the European Theater and won the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in rescuing fellow soldiers who had been injured, while he was still exposed to enemy fire. After completing his military service, Roberts earned his law degree from the New York University School of Law in 1949 and was awarded a Master of Laws in 1953 from Cornell Law School.
Starting in 1949, he began his legal career as an assistant prosecutor to Frank Hogan the New York County District Attorney. It was there that he started using his voice, described as being "a few decibels below the roar of a jet engine", prosecuting petty criminals and corrupt politicians alike. In 1966 he was lured away from Manhattan to become the chief assistant to Bronx County District Attorney Isidore Dollinger, and became acting district attorney in 1967 when Dollinger ran for a judicial seat. He became Bronx County District Attorney in 1968 with bipartisan support and saw a near tripling in the number of prosecutors in his office.
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