Attorney General Matt Platkin has named his senior counsel, Drew Skinner, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.
He will replace Thomas Eicher, who formed the office in 2018 and announced his retirement today.
“I can think of no one better suited to continue that work than Drew Skinner, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in complicated criminal matters on the federal level to this critical role,” Platkin said.
Platkin has gone outside the embattled OPIA structure to pick a new leader.
The deputy director, Anthony Picione, will also be leaving; the number three lawyer at OPIA, Peter W. Lee, retired in January.
Skinner spent nearly nine years as a federal prosecutor and was co-chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit. He previously served in the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.
There will be a transition period between Skinner’s arrival at OPIA and Eicher’s departure.