Introduction
Kenneth Michael Karas (born 1964) is a United States federal judge.
Background
Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Karas received a B.A. from Georgetown University in 1986 and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1991.
Career
Karas was a law clerk for the Hon. Reena Raggi, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in 1992. He was an Assistant United States Attorney of the Southern District of New York from 1992 to 2004.
On September 18, 2003, Karas was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Allen G. Schwartz. Karas was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 3, 2004, and received commission on June 13, 2004.
On January 11, 2008 Karas sentenced Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones to six months in prison for making false statements after it was discovered that she had lied to federal investigators on two separate occasions: when she and Montgomery were being investigated over the BALCO scandal and about her knowledge of fellow Olympian Tim Montgomery's involvement in fraud. On May 16 that year he sentenced Montgomery, who was also Jones' ex-boyfriend, to 46 months in prison for his part in a multimillion-dollar fake-check scheme.
In February and March 2015 Karas presided over Malcolm Smith and Dan Halloran's trials for corruption. Smith was convicted for bribery and extortion charges while Halloran was found guilty of various corruption charges, including taking bribes to aid Smith's 2013 campaign for Mayor of New York City. He turned down the defence's appeal for leniency and sentenced Halloran to ten years in prison. The high-profile trials of Smith and Halloran were part of string of cases brought forward by federal investigators in an effort to curb political corruption within the New York state government.