Deputy Attorney General Recognizes Maine AUSA and MDEA Special Agent

WASHINGTON – Assistant U.S. Attorney (“AUSA”) Joel Casey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maine was one of 162 members of the Department of Justice recognized by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director James Crowell, IV at the 34th Director’s Awards Ceremony today in Washington D.C.  Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (“MDEA”) Special Agent Christopher Gardner was also recognized posthumously.

The District of Maine was one of 35 districts represented at the ceremony which was held in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.

In addressing the award recipients and guests, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, “Today’s honorees earned the esteem of their colleagues.  But most importantly, they earned the gratitude of our fellow citizens — the people whose communities you made safer, whose lives you improved, and whose trust you rewarded. Today, we pause to honor and recognize a small portion of your work.”

AUSA Casey, Special Agent Gardiner and their counterparts in Connecticut were recognized for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team for their work investigating and prosecuting the Red Side Guerilla Brims (RSGB”). The investigation revealed that members and associates of the RSGB, a sect of the Bloods street gang based in New Haven, were engaged in narcotics trafficking and related acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, assaults and armed robberies.  In addition to distributing crack cocaine and other narcotics in and around New Haven, the investigation indicated that members and associates of the RSGB transported the drugs to Bangor, Maine, and sold them in Bangor and its surrounding communities.  The RSGB also traded narcotics for firearms and used drug addicts as straw purchasers of firearms.  Members then brought the firearms back to New Haven and distributed them to gang members.  As a result of this investigation, 21 members and associates of the RSGB were convicted of federal charges in Connecticut and Maine.  The investigation resolved seven murder cases, four attempted murders and four armed robberies that occurred in 2011 and 2012.

EOUSA provides oversight, general executive assistance, and direction to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country. For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charged with enforcing federal criminal laws in Maine and representing the federal government in civil litigation.  The Office is composed of about 26 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 25 staff members at offices in Portland and Bangor.  For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me.