ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Edward Leon, the man accused in a fatal house fire in Schenectady in 2013, is seeking to have federal charges against him dismissed. According to court documents, the motion comes after First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III was found to be unlawfully serving as the Northern District of New York’s top prosecutor.
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Leon’s attorneys have reportedly filed a request to dismiss the suspect’s original indictment, which was filed in July 2025 and charged him with malicious use of fire to destroy property resulting in death. The legal team also seeks to have his superseding indictment dismissed, thereby striking down the government’s Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty, according to legal documents.
“In the alternative, Mr. Leon also moves this Court to order the government to produce discovery relevant to this motion and to conduct an evidentiary hearing,” the memorandum, filed on Sept. 23, stated.
In their argument for the motion, the attorneys cited an August decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld Sarcone’s disqualification as the acting U.S. attorney. The appeals court stated that Sarcone’s designation as acting attorney violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA) of 1998, therefore he did not have the authority to take over the duties of head prosecutor.
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“We hold that Sarcone was not serving as Acting U.S. Attorney… because the FVRA permits only a First Assistant already in place when the vacancy arises to become the acting officer automatically,” the court opinion stated, referencing the fact that Sarcone had been interim U.S. attorney before being appointed the first assistant attorney and, at the same time, acting attorney…