This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
When Eric B. Bruce ’90 became an assistant U.S. attorney in 1999, he prosecuted cases such as bank fraud, alien smuggling, narcotics, and gun trafficking. Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, anti-terrorism took center stage as he joined the Organized Crime and Terrorism Unit in the southern district of New York.
Among the high-profile cases he’s now involved with is the prosecution of Abu Hamza, former imam at the Finsbury Park mosque in London. Hamza is currently being tried in Great Britain, but he also faces 11 charges in the United States, including hostage-taking, attempting to create a terrorist training camp in Oregon, and providing material support to al-Qaeda for promoting violent jihad in Afghanistan.
Another case awaiting extradition from Great Britain is the prosecution of Isa al Hindi, who along with two other men is charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against people within the United States. Those men are alleged to have conducted surveillance on the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, both in Washington, D.C.; Prudential Corporate Plaza in Newark, N.J.; and the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup Center in New York City. Discovery of their surveillance led to the terror alert being raised to orange in 2004.
Although he is unable to comment publicly on these cases, Bruce does note that he is proud to be involved in them.
“After 9/11, as with many federal law enforcement officials, my focus became almost exclusively the investigation and prosecution of terrorists in the United States and abroad,” he says. “It’s an incredible, challenging job and I enjoy every minute of it.”
He doesn’t get back to College Hill as often as he would like, but Bruce did crash the class of ’89’s reunion last year. (No charges were filed.)
“Obviously, the greatest thing about Lafayette is the people — the students, professors, and everyone else who makes the place run,” he says. “Most of my best friends still are from Lafayette and we all get together as much as we can.”
Choosing between engineering and pre-law tore at Bruce while at Lafayette.
“I started off as a Bachelor of Science engineering major, but by sophomore year I became even more interested in going to law school,” he says. “I really enjoyed some of the pre-law classes I took with James Lennertz [associate professor of government and law] and philosophy classes I took with [George] Panichas [Hogg Professor and head of philosophy], so I decided to switch to A.B. engineering, which gave me more flexibility in my schedule and allowed me to explore some of these other interests. I think it is a great major in the depth of courses you can take.”