Former Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau faces a new challenge at age 90: He's been appointed by a judge to speed up hiring of blacks and Hispanics in New York City's mostly white fire department.
But lawyers for the city are trying to get him off the case.
They filed court papers Friday saying the longtime prosecutor's "known distaste'' for Mayor Michael Bloomberg might prevent him from being fair.
The relationship between Morgenthau, a giant of New York law, and Bloomberg, a giant in business and politics, has been tense recently.
The two have squabbled over issues including how funds were handled in the DA's office.
Morgenthau said he wouldn't have accepted the position if he didn't think he could be impartial.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
