Justice Salvatore R. Martoche
Justice Salvatore R. Martoche was designated to serve on the Appellate Division Fourth Department 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 Western New York from 1982 to 1986. An assistant secretary of the U.S.
Labor Department under President 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 1980's, serving as Acting Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision.
Prior to his election to Supreme Court, he was in the private practice of law in Buffalo and served as one
of six commissioners of the state Commission of Investigation, which investigates allegations of 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. Justice Martoche and his wife Mary Dee, an attorney, live in
Buffalo. They have three adult children, Amy, Claire and Christopher.