The Rise and Fall of Rudolph Giuliani Gerry OShea “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent only Vaulting ambition.” Act 1, Scene 7, Macbeth. During the 70’s and 80’s New York City was seen by many people as experiencing some form of a nervous breakdown. The statistics for neighborhood crime seemed to follow a cascading downward slide, especially in parts of Manhattan and the Bronx. Rudy Giuliani was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1989. He had a reputation for being very tough on crime, whether of the organized variety or just street robberies and muggings. His sterling reputation in this area won him the mayor’s job for two four-year terms ending in 2001. He can justifiably boast about his fine record in emphatically repulsing the crime surge in all five boroughs. The numbers show that it came down nearly 60% during his eight years - 1250 fewer New Yorkers were killed in 2001 than in 1993 and car thievery was cut in half