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 Appointed as U.S.
Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, by
President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States
Senate in March 2002.
As United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois, Widup is
responsible for managing one of the U.S. Marshals Service largest
Districts nationally.
Widup has been a Supervisory Special Agent or Criminal Investigator
(Special Agent - 1811) for 25 years at the federal level in which he
specialized in conducting or supervising public corruption, white-collar
crime and complex criminal investigations. Prior to being appointed as
United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois, Widup was
the Chief of Investigations, Office of Independent Counsel, in the
matter involving former president William J. Clinton from June 2000 to
April 2002.
In July 1979, after a three-year tour in the U.S. Army, Widup became a Special Agent (criminal
investigator) with the Office of the Inspector General, Investigations,
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Southwest Region. Among
the matters which Widup investigated; a major loan fraud involving the
Arkansas rural housing program, which resulted in the prosecution of 38
individuals and a sensitive undercover investigation of a violent New
Mexico motorcycle gang, resulting in the conviction of over 80
defendants. He was nominated as the Federal fraud investigator of the
year.
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In 1988, Widup was promoted to a Staff Special Agent position and
transferred to the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Office of the
Inspector General. Widup served in Washington and Beltsville, Maryland,
until 1997. Widup led investigations into several criminal organizations
trafficking in Food Stamps and illegal drugs. He managed an
investigation into the theft of 35 government-owned fire-fighting
aircraft (C-130 and P-3 Orions) by USDA Forest Service contractors
resulting in the conviction of two defendants and civil judgments
against the contractors totaling several million dollars. For his work
in this latter case, Widup received the Meritorious Honor Award from the
Secretary of Agriculture.
In 1992, Widup was promoted to senior criminal investigator in the
Office of the Inspector General’s Headquarters Investigations and
Protective Operations Division. In this position Widup was responsible
for conducting sensitive investigations and for a 14-month period was in
charge of the Secretary of Agriculture’s protection detail. In 1994,
Widup was assigned as the lead investigator and supervisor to the Office
of the Independent Counsel investigating former Secretary of Agriculture
Michael Espy and his Chief of Staff resulting in the conviction of 20
individuals and corporations and the recovery of over $11 million for
the U.S. Treasury.
In June 1997, Widup became Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge for the
Midwest Region of the Office of the Inspector General in Chicago. Under
Widup’s leadership, the Midwest Region’s investigations office produced
the most indictments, initiated the most investigations and recovered
the most money of all the USDA Inspector General’s regional offices.
During his management of the investigations of the Chicago Inspector
General’s office, it secured the recovery of over $100 million for the
United States Government. In addition, Widup assisted in the development
of Operation Talon for the Midwest Region, a nation-wide initiative to
apprehend fugitives from justice, which was awarded the Vice President’s
Hammer Award.
Widup managed investigations in the Chicago office until June 2000 when
he was appointed by Independent Counsel Robert Ray to serve as Chief of
Investigations for the Whitewater and Lewinsky investigations. Widup
directed the investigation which led to the then President reaching a
resolution with the United States in which he agreed to surrender his
law license for five years, pay an additional $25,000 fine, not seek
legal fees from the United States and make certain admissions regarding
his conduct.
Widup has received over 40 letters of commendation and meritorious
awards for investigative excellence during his 25-year law enforcement
career and is a national instructor on public corruption investigations
and interviewing techniques. Widup currently instructs at the Federal
Law Enforcement Training Center on conducting public corruption
investigations.
Widup serves as the Chairman of the U.S. Marshals Service Shooting
Review Board, is an Advisor to the Chicago Police Department
Superintendent on his Community Violence Forum and participates in an
advisory capacity on several other law enforcement and community
committees and boards.
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