Now-DOL Secretary Acosta was the Miami U.S. Attorney who helped give billionaire Epstein a light sentence as part of a clandestine non-prosecution agreement.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra of the Southern District of Florida ruled Thursday that prosecutors broke federal law in their handling of a case against Florida billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who ran a global child sex ring between 1999 and 2007.
According to Marra's ruling, Alexander Acosta, who is now the US Department of Labor Secretary, was wrong to set up a clandestine non-prosecution agreement with Epstein in 2008, when Acosta was a U.S. Attorney in Miami.
Epstein pleaded guilty to two prostitution charges and served 13 months in Palm Beach County jail, but could have faced life in prison with a federal sex trafficking conviction. His alleged accomplices were never charged.
Read the ruling:
Related stories:
Feds to Investigate Billionaire Epstein's Sex Plea Deal
Justice Department Watchdog Looking Into Jeffrey Epstein Plea Deal
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Raychel Lean
Raychel Lean is ALM's Florida bureau chief, overseeing the Daily Business Review. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter via @raychellean.
