William J. Hochul, Jr.

William Joseph Hochul Jr. ( ; born March 28, 1959) is an American attorney who served as United States attorney for the Western District of New York from 2010 to 2016. Hochul has been the first gentleman of New York since August 2021, when his wife, Kathy Hochul, ascended to the governorship following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo. He was previously the Second Gentleman while his wife was lieutenant governor from 2015 to 2021.

Hochul is currently counsel at international law firm Davis Polk & Wardell.

Early life and education William Joseph Hochul Jr. was born in Buffalo, New York on April 1, 1959. His grandparents were Catholic immigrants from Poland. He graduated from Cheektowaga Central High School in Cheektowaga, New York, just outside Buffalo. Hochul earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984.

Career Hochul served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of New York from 1991 to 2010. In 1996, he also served as an adversary for the murder trial of George "Dog" Powell, another member of the L.A. Boys.

Hochul Jr. was one of the 18 members of the Buffalo Joint Terrorism Task Force awarded the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service, the highest award of the Department of Justice, for "their exemplary performance in the dismantlement of the Lackawanna, New York terrorist cell" which resulted in the 2003 convictions of six Yemeni-American for providing material support to Al-Qaeda. Hochul is also generally recognized as the first prosecutor to use the nation's racketeering laws to dismantle violent street gangs.

DOJ report on employment rejection In 2006, William J. Hochul Jr. unsuccessfully applied to a counterterrorism position in the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. The report found that Hochul was passed over in favor of "a much less experienced, but politically acceptable, attorney". According to the Am-Pol Eagle, Hochul is the first Polish-American to serve as a federal prosecutor for Western New York State.

Later career In 2016, Hochul became senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary to Delaware North, a hospitality and gambling company. In 2024, he became counsel at Davis Polk (now Davis Polk & Wardell), in the firm's white collar defense and investigations practice in New York.

Personal life Hochul is married to former congresswoman and current New York governor Kathy Hochul, who previously served as the county clerk of Erie County, New York from 2007 to 2011. They have two children.