Woman poised to be US attorney
Would be first Hispanic if she is confirmed
Carmen M. Ortiz, who grew up poor in New York City's Spanish Harlem neighborhood and became a state and then a federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, is poised to become the first woman and the first Hispanic US attorney in the state.
US Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry recommended yesterday that President Obama nominate Ortiz, the daughter of Puerto Rico natives, to the highest federal law enforcement position in the state.
"It's a tremendous challenge, but I think one that I'm prepared to take and I'm prepared to meet," the 53-year-old Milton woman said in a brief telephone interview. "I feel very grateful, and I'm humbled by the senators' confidence in me."
Ortiz has worked in the US attorney's office in Massachusetts for the past 12 years and did two stints for about 10 years as a prosecutor in the Middlesex district attorney's office. She has had a variety of other professional experience, including helping the National Football League in 1990 to investigate allegations by a Boston Herald reporter of sexual harassment against members of the New England Patriots.
The senators, who picked Ortiz from among three finalists recommended by a committee that vetted candidates, said she was a "standout throughout this process."
"We believe that her prosecutorial experience, commitment to public service, and insight into criminal justice issues will make her an exceptional United States attorney," they said in a joint statement. "She has lived the American dream, worked hard for every accomplishment she's achieved, and will ensure that the US attorney's office for Massachusetts is a leader in our community and around the country."
Historically, the senior senator from the president's party picks nominees for US attorney, though it is the president who advances the candidates by sending their names to the Senate Judiciary Committee. If the Senate confirms her, Ortiz would succeed Michael J. Sullivan, a George W. Bush appointee, who resigned in April after 7 1/2 years in the job. Her admirers said Ortiz is a highly ethical prosecutor who could repair an office that some contend focused too much on small-bore gun and drug crimes instead of complex white-collar cases.
"I'm extraordinarily ecstatic about her appointment," said retired US magistrate judge Joyce London Alexander, a member of the screening committee.
Still, Ortiz's selection came as somewhat of a surprise. The other two finalists - Michael B. Keating and Martin F. Murphy, both of whom are partners at the law firm Foley Hoag - are better known in Boston's legal establishment. Keating is a former president of the Boston Bar Association and a prominent commercial litigator. Murphy is a former federal prosecutor who led the major crimes division and later served as first assistant district attorney in Middlesex County.
Also, Ortiz's work in the US attorney's office has not been without controversy. In 2004, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ordered the resentencing of a man convicted in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded 38,000 people of $1.54 million because Ortiz broke a promise to recommend a lighter sentence.
Michael E. Mone, the Boston lawyer who headed the screening committee, said all three finalists were "very impressive." But Ortiz's personal story, professional background, and status as a woman of color set her apart, he said.
The eldest of five children, Ortiz grew up in New York's Spanish Harlem. Her father worked in the garment industry, drove a cab, and finally opened up a gift shop, Ortiz said. Her mother sold Avon products to help make ends meet. The family later moved to Long Island.
Ortiz attended Adelphi University and received a full scholarship to George Washington University Law School in Washington, from which she graduated in 1981. She worked as a prosecutor in Middlesex County from 1983 to 1988 and from 1991 to 1995, according to the Adelphi website, ultimately supervising other prosecutors in a dozen district courts. Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr., who worked with her there and later at the US attorney's office, said she is a "professional prosecutor who puts her head down and does her job."
Ortiz currently works in the US attorney's Economic Crimes Unit. She drew perhaps the most public attention when she was not a prosecutor. She was working at the Center for Criminal Justice at Harvard Law School in 1990 when she served on a commission charged by the NFL commissioner with investigating allegations of sexual harassment against members of the Patriots.
Several her friends also say she displayed uncommon courage when her husband - Michael Vittorio Morisi, a Quincy lawyer - battled the cancer from which he died in 2000. She reared their two daughters alone and "kept all the balls in the air during a tough time," said Jeanne Kempthorne, a Salem lawyer and former federal prosecutor.
Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com. 