Trini Ross
U.S. Attorney Trini Ross has announced her resignation.
Ross’ resignation was effective February 14. She became the United States Attorney on October 11, 2021. Nominated by President Joe Biden, Jr. on July 26, 2021, and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on September 30, 2021, Ross became the first black woman to hold the position in the Western District of New York.
Ross said in a statement, “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in this position as the top law enforcement officer in the Western District of New York, my home, where I was born and raised and have spent the majority of my life. And serving in this particular office was also special because I started my career as a federal prosecutor here, in 1995.”
Joel Violanti is now the Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of New York.
As U.S. Attorney for the 17 counties in the Western District of New York, Ms. Ross’s accomplishments are wide ranging. Cases involving approximately 1178 defendants were resolved during her tenure. In addition, approximately 120 appellate briefs were filed and 75 appellate oral arguments handled while Ms. Ross was U.S. Attorney, resulting in a near perfect rate of affirmations by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit,
In civil matters, between 2022 and January 2025, approximately $80,000,000 was collected in criminal, civil and forfeiture actions. That funding collected is given to victims of crime, and provided as aid to state and local law enforcement agency partners who worked with the United States Attorney’s Office on criminal cases. And Ms. Ross oversaw the largest settlement in the history of the District with a $98,000,000 settlement with Independent Health.
In March 2022, Ms. Ross was one of the first 12, of 93, United States Attorney’s to be selected to serve on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC), which she served on until her term ended after a year and a half. The AGAC advises the Attorney General on matters of policy, procedure, and management impacting the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys and elevates the voices of U.S. Attorneys in Department policies. In addition, Ms. Ross was also selected as the Chairperson for the AGAC sub-committee on Law Enforcement Coordination, Victim Assistance and Community Relations (LEVC). In this role, Ms. Ross lead the sub-committee that advised the Attorney General on matters involving law enforcement, victim assistance, and community relations. In June 2023, Ms. Ross hosted the LEVC meeting in Buffalo, bringing U.S. Attorneys from across the country to the Buffalo area for two days. The meeting included presentations and discussions on the May 14th tragedy, which included a visit to the Tops store on Jefferson Avenue, business, and community outreach efforts, as well as multiple presentations by law enforcement.
In June 2022, Ms. Ross arranged a visit by then Attorney General Merrick Garland, and other top DOJ and FBI officials, who came to Buffalo to meet with families and survivors of the Tops shooting and announce federal hate crime charges against defendant Payton Gendron.
Throughout Ms. Ross’s time as U.S. Attorney, school districts, police departments, social service agencies, and local governments received approximately $55,000,000 in federal grant funding for youth and victim services, to battle human trafficking, and initiatives addressing law enforcement, the opiate epidemic, reentry and recidivism, among others.
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