Daniel G. Cort brings more than three decades of law enforcement and criminal justice experience to the role of MTA Inspector General, which he assumed in June 2023. He came to OIG from the New York City Department of Investigation, where he served from 2018 as First Deputy Commissioner. He was DOI's Acting Commissioner from November 2021 to February 2022.
Prior to DOI, Inspector General Cort was Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau at the New York State Attorney General’s Office, leading a team of lawyers, investigators, analysts, and auditors who investigated and prosecuted government corruption, fraud, and abuse of authority across New York State. Under his leadership, that bureau's prosecutions led to the convictions of several judges, a member of the State Assembly, and numerous other public servants.
Inspector General Cort previously worked in the New York County District Attorney’s Office for 19 years as an Assistant District Attorney, including as Chief of the Public Integrity Unit. He also served as Deputy Bureau Chief and Acting Bureau Chief of the Rackets Bureau and as a Senior Investigative Counsel. He tried numerous cases in State Supreme Court, including the successful prosecution of a Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Department of Buildings on corruption charges. He secured the conviction of an NYC Councilmember on campaign finance-related crimes, was lead prosecutor in a multi-year investigation that resulted in the felony convictions and disbarments of fourteen lawyers, and tried a reckless manslaughter case stemming from the death and serious injuries of construction workers.
Inspector General Cort began his professional career in 1988 as a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York, and served as Assistant Counsel at the New York State Commission of Investigation from 1991 to 1994. From 1994 to 1995, he worked as a Nominations Counsel at the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
He received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and is a cum laude graduate of Drew University.
