Hoovler and U.S. Attorneys Host Historic Hudson Valley Law Enforcement Symposium

More than fifty law enforcement agencies across the Hudson Valley convened for the Hudson Valley Law Enforcement Symposium, an event hosted by Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and co-hosted by U.S. Attorneys John Sarcone for the Northern District of New York and Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. The symposium, held Tuesday, January 27, 2026, brought federal, state and local partners together to sharpen coordination on major prosecution priorities.

Organizers said the event sought to enhance collaboration for the prosecution of drug cartels, gangs, violent crimes, guns and human trafficking. Presentations were delivered by representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Postal Inspectors, United States Marshals, New York State Police, Ulster County Sheriff and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The Orange County press notice shows an additional local entry beginning with “the Orange County” but the published copy provided ends before the full name appears.

The joint hosting by two U.S. attorneys along with the Orange County District Attorney underscores a federal-state-local approach to complex investigations that cross county lines. Bringing agencies from Albany through Westchester County into a single forum is designed to reduce investigative gaps, streamline evidence-sharing and align charging strategies when cases involve multiple jurisdictions or federal offenses.

For Orange County residents, the symposium signals an intensified focus on criminal networks that affect community safety and quality of life. Shared tasking and pooled investigative resources can lead to larger, federally supported prosecutions that carry longer sentences and broader investigative reach. At the same time, coordinated operations may mean increased interagency activity across local neighborhoods as investigations proceed.

The event also reflects the range of threats modern prosecutors face: narcotics trafficking with cross-border cartels, group-based gang violence, illegal firearms trafficking and transnational human trafficking. Agencies represented at the symposium bring different tools: the DEA and HSI for transnational narcotics and trafficking, the ATF and state police for firearms enforcement, U.S. Marshals for fugitive operations and courts security, and Postal Inspectors for postal-related criminal schemes.

Orange County officials presented the gathering as a “historic” symposium in their announcement. The release included site navigation and social media links typical of county communications; it also repeated the announcement text in duplicate before an apparent truncation in the final agency list. Additional details about the venue, full roster of participants and any follow-up agreements were not included in the distributed text.

What comes next is closer coordination in investigations and prosecutions across the Hudson Valley and potential operational follow-ups between federal and county offices. Residents should expect prosecutors in Orange County, alongside federal partners, to pursue multi-jurisdictional cases with coordinated strategies aimed at dismantling the larger criminal networks cited at the symposium.