U.S. Attorney for N.Y. District Confirmed

The Senate on Friday confirmed Otto G. Obermaier, a Manhattan lawyer specializing in white-collar cases, to be U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Obermaier, 53, succeeds Rudolph W. Giuliani, the New York City Republican mayoral candidate, who stepped down from the post Jan. 31 to enter politics. Benito Romano has served during the interim.

The confirmation was by voice vote.

Obermaier, of Syosset, N.Y., is a founding partner in the law firm Obermaier, Morvillo & Abramowitz. He was nominated by President Bush on Sept. 6 after being recommended for the job in January by Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.).

D’Amato broke with his longtime ally Giuliani over the recommendation when the senator refused to give Giuliani more say in who would succeed him. Giuliani opposed Obermaier outright because several of his firm’s clients are targets of federal insider-trading investigations.

But earlier this month, Giuliani said he believed Obermaier is “qualified for the position.”