From Mobsters to Binance: A Tenacious Prosecutor Finds Spotlight

The message Nicole Argentieri delivered last week as the Justice Department announced its historic punishment against crypto exchange Binance was boilerplate prosecutor-speak: Break the law and you will face consequences.

It’s a warning she honed, and acted on, for years as she forged a reputation as a formidable assistant US attorney in Brooklyn. Much of that time was spent building cases against mobsters, yet a moment that stood out to one defense attorney was when Argentieri sought to stop a pattern of rapes by federal correctional officers.

Deirdre von Dornum represented the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center inmate whose 2016 tip ...