NY’s AG isn’t backing down from Wall Street probe

NY’s AG isn’t backing down from Wall Street probe

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a lead investigator into the mortgage collapse that wobbled the U.S. economy, says he won’t take the title “sheriff of Wall Street” that his predecessor held.

But he’s not backing down, either.

He rejected a settlement with major banks a year ago because it shielded the banks from future investigations. He got bounced off a committee of attorneys general negotiating the settlement. More than 40 others wanted to take the deal.

And after digging in, the 57-year-old lawyer from Manhattan won. The states still got billions in settlement money and he was tapped by President Barack Obama to co-chair a group to keep investigating.

Even opponents say that sort of backbone is needed to watch over the industries that call Wall Street home.