He was riding to the airport one day with Robert Patterson, the law firm’s head, when the boss realized he’d left important papers behind. Patterson sent Morgenthau back to bring them on a later flight -- and died when his plane crashed.

“For many years thereafter, Bob limited his travels to surface transportation,” his brother wrote in his book.

In 1961, after heading a Bronx election committee for John F. Kennedy, Morgenthau was named U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He became an energetic prosecutor of corporate felonies and organized crime, set up a securities-fraud unit and brought Internal Revenue Service lawyers to trial on bribery charges.

He succeeded in convicting accountants who had certified false financial reports. The case was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals, setting a legal precedent that accountants may be held liable for misleading documents.

Gubernatorial Candidate
He interrupted his crime-fighting career in 1962 to run, unsuccessfully, as the Democratic candidate for governor against Nelson Rockefeller. He remained U.S. Attorney until late 1969, forced out by Richard Nixon -- who expected prosecutors appointed by his Democratic predecessor to step down.

Four years later, Morgenthau won a special election for district attorney. Taking office on Jan. 1, 1975, he wound up eclipsing the 32-year tenure of Frank Hogan.

Morgenthau became New York’s top prosecutor amid a fiscal crisis and a wave of drug-related crime. In 1975, when Manhattan had 648 homicides, he focused on fighting violent crime. By 2004 he could report that homicides had dropped to 91 -- a rate that plunged to 65 in 2007, he said.

The drop in violence allowed his office to pursue the financial crimes that he said undermined the city’s economic viability.

Prosecuting Kozlowski
Among Morgenthau’s corporate prosecutions, Kozlowski was sentenced to 8-to-25 years for looting Tyco of $600 million. Fraud charges against Bank of Credit and Commerce International generated $800 million in fines; the Bank of England closed BCCI in 1991.

Morgenthau also created a labor racketeering team and targeted fraud in the garbage and garment industries, though his drive to root out white-collar crime led to clashes with his former employer, the U.S. Attorney’s office.