Criminal Division
The Criminal Division is the largest of the District's divisions. Assistant United States Attorneys in this Division work closely with agents and officers from a variety of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute individuals and organizations who violate the federal criminal laws. During the fiscal year 2003, 665 defendants were convicted and were sentenced to a collective 3000 years in prison.
Supervised by the Criminal Division Chief who is presently stationed in Tyler, Texas, the District's Criminal Division has over forty prosecutors assigned to six staffed offices in Beaumont (headquarters), Lufkin, Tyler, Texarkana, Plano and Sherman. There are Supervisory Assistant United States Attorneys in the Beaumont, Lufkin, Sherman and Plano offices. All of our offices emphasize prosecuting cases that are consistent with the prosecutive priorities established by the Attorney General of the United States. Typically our AUSAs are involved in the following areas of investigation and prosecution.
GENERAL CRIMES
In terms of organization of the office, most of the district's AUSAs are in the general crimes section. Within this group, dedicated prosecutors address violations of the nation's immigration laws, basic narcotic trafficking crimes, and child pornography. Violent crimes such as bank robbery and carjacking are also prosecuted by attorneys who work in this section. In this regard, these prosecutors work closely with our Project Safe Neighborhoods section. Finally, this group of attorneys, particularly those in our Beaumont office, prosecute the numerous crimes committed at the large federal prison complex located in Beaumont, Texas.
PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS
Combining with two Project Exile Special Assistant United States Attorneys who work in our Beaumont and Lufkin offices respectively, our Project Safe Neighborhoods coordinator, AUSA Michelle Englade (Beaumont), has crafted a recognized prosecutive program that gives special attention to prosecuting federal gun law violations. Our district has partnered with the Texas Attorney General's office to specifically target convicted felons who possess firearms, individuals who commit other federal crimes with firearms and firearm dealers who provide firearms to prohibited persons. PSN section attorneys are also actively involved in community outreach projects which are designed to enlighten and educate the general public and local law enforcement concerning the nature and seriousness of gun-related crime.
NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT
The Eastern District of Texas is crisscrossed by virtually every major drug pipeline linking the Southwest Border Region to the rest of the nation. The east-west Interstate highways 10, 20, and 30 trisect the Eastern District of Texas. Similarly, US Highways 59, 69, 75 as well as Interstates 45 and 35, serve as north-south drug corridors through this district from the Rio Grande Valley and Houston. In response, the Eastern District of Texas employs five AUSAs who are committed to developing and prosecuting significant Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) cases which target the most entrenched and profitable drug distribution organizations. The five OCDETF AUSAs are stationed in Beaumont, Tyler, Plano and Sherman respectively and there are active OCDETF cases that are being worked in each of our six offices. These complex investigations target a variety of major drug trafficking organizations who literally operate all over the Western Hemisphere.
Eastern District AUSAs are also very engaged in addressing those drug organizations whose impact and reach are more local to the communities in our district. For example, our district's Operation MethBusters initiative specifically focuses on attacking the manufacture, distribution and consumption of methamphetamine. AUSAs from each of our staffed offices regularly meet to devise and implement a coordinated district wide prosecutive strategy to meet the insidious methamphetamine problem.
Our district also is an active participant in the Dallas-based High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiative which incorporates Denton and Collin counties. Finally, the Eastern District of Texas coordinates two significant Weed and Seed projects within our district, in Texarkana and Beaumont respectively. These programs emphasize positive role models, constructive lifestyle choices, the development of life skills and are proven drug demand reduction models.
The District has an active Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC) which is comprised of over 200 law enforcement officials, emergency first responders and officials, among others. This cooperative of State and Federal officials serves to lessen the vulnerabilities within the district's infrastructure and to vigorously prevent terrorist activities.
WHITE COLLAR CRIME ENFORCEMENT
Generally speaking, AUSAs working in this section concentrate on cases which deal with financial institution fraud, health care fraud, public corruption and government program fraud. In addition, the district prosecutors are always alert to and are developing successful strategies for combating corporate fraud, identity fraud, as well as computer related crimes. Attorneys working in our Plano office chair a bankruptcy fraud working group and regularly meet with attorneys and investigators from the Security and Exchange Commission in order to coordinate investigations on targets of mutual interest.
The United States Attorney is a member of the Attorney General's Advisory Group's Subcommittee on White Collar/Fraud crimes and his involvement cements the Eastern District's already vigorous approach to this challenging, incredibly important area of federal prosecution. Whether the criminal is a public official robbing the public of its right to honest service, a sophisticated computer hacker, or a swindler who takes advantage of gullible investors, the district's white collar/fraud AUSAs will decisively address that criminal with effective law enforcement techniques.
ASSET FORFEITURE
In every prosecution, our AUSAs not only analyze the evidence necessary to prove the Government's case but investigate whether or not the target of the investigation has financially profited from his illicit conduct. Staffed by two experienced AUSAs, the Assistant Forfeiture Section supports the AUSAs working in the Criminal Division who, when appropriate, strive to eliminate the financial gain associated with the criminal activity. The illegal fruits of such activity are identified, seized and forfeited.
APPELLATE
The appellate coordinator supervises the appellate litigation in the district. While each AUSA litigator is responsible for his or her own appeals, this section, which is staffed by paralegals and two senior AUSAs, ensures that all of the appellate work product filed with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is consistently excellent.