FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
MONDAY, MAY 1, 995                                 (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

        RICHARD W. ROBERTS NAMED CRIMINAL SECTION CHIEF IN
                      CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Richard W. Roberts, Principal Assistant
U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., has been named Chief of the
Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, the Justice
Department announced today.
     Roberts succeeds Linda Davis who was nominated by President
Clinton as a D.C. Superior Court judge. 
     Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick
said Roberts will lead the Department's efforts to enforce the
nation's criminal civil rights laws.  
     "Mr. Roberts' wealth of experience in criminal civil rights
laws and his management experience will make him an extremely
valuable asset to the Division," stated Patrick. 
     Roberts, 41, a native of New York City, has served in the U.S.
Attorney's office in Washington since December 1988.  During that
time he served in the Trial/Grand Jury Section, the Public
Corruption Section, and the Economic Crimes Section.  In October
1993, Roberts was appointed by U.S. Attorney Eric H. Holder, Jr. as
the Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney, serving as second-in-command
of the office.  
     Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney's office, Roberts served
for three years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan.  He was
an associate with the Washington law firm of Covington and Burling
for three years, and also served for four years as a trial attorney
in the Section he will now head.
     As a federal prosecutor, Roberts successfully prosecuted cases
involving a defendant who killed two black Salt Lake City joggers
in a racially motivated sniper attack; migrant labor crew leaders
who caused the death of a laborer forced to work against his will;
a former judge involved in a $2 million bank fraud scheme; the
leaders of a major multi-state car theft ring; a defendant who hid
$1 million in assets in a bankruptcy fraud scheme; and Washington
Mayor Marion Barry for violating federal narcotics laws. 
     Roberts earned an A.B. degree cum laude from Vassar College in
1974, an M.I.A. degree from the School for International Training
in 1978, and a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 1978.  He is
a founding member of the Washington chapter of Concerned Black Men
(CBM) Inc., and is currently the deputy general counsel of the CBM
National Organization.  Roberts previously served as an adjunct
Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center where he taught
trial practice. 
     "Ricky's wise counsel and sound judgment will be sorely missed
in this Office," said Holder.  "The Department could not have
selected a finer lawyer to carry out those important
responsibilities."     
     No specific date has been set for Roberts to assume his Senior
Executive Service position.
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