2002-05-23 -- Office Restructuring -- News Release

U.S Attorney Christie Announces Complete Office Restructuring with New Units, Additions and Changes in Leadership

NEWARK - U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie today announced the restructuring of the U.S. Attorney's Office, merging the Criminal, Frauds and Strike Force Divisions and dividing them into new units targeting more specific types of crime, and appointing new supervisors.

The Computer/Hacking/Intellectual Property, or "CHIP" section, will be staffed by the two Assistant U.S. Attorneys with the most extensive experience in this area. The terrorism unit created by Christie will be staffed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys under the direction of Unit Chief Stuart Rabner, the former First Assistant U.S. Attorney. The Violent Crime Unit, headed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Agnifilo, will pay particular attention to gangs and gun-related crime.

See the following organizational chart for details on the specific types of crime to be covered by the other units*. The chart identifies only chiefs and deputy chiefs of the units; names and number of staff for each are omitted. The U.S. Attorney's Office currently staffs about 110 prosecutors. Staffing in the structure could shift or increase in any of the units as resource demands warrant, Christie said.

"Over the last four months, I have undertaken an exhaustive review of the office to meet the law enforcement challenges of the 21st Century," Christie said. "I've consulted with judges and office alumni and met with each and every Assistant U.S. Attorney to get their views on how best to confront crime in New Jersey."

The new structure puts most of the resources and units under the umbrella of the Criminal Division, whose Chief will be Patty Shwartz, a fixture in the office whose energy, abilities and personal qualities make her uniquely suited for the post, Christie said.

The Executive Office staffing remains the same: First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra, Executive Assistant Charles McKenna, Counsel to the U.S. Attorney Paula Dow, and Lee Solomon, Deputy U.S. Attorney for the Southern Vicinages of Camden and Trenton.

Shwartz will have two deputies, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Clark and Richard Schecter, who will each supervise four units of the Criminal Division.

Clark will supervise the Terrorism Unit, under Rabner's direction; the Public Protection Unit, under the direction of Chief Carolyn Murray; the Securities & Health Care Fraud Unit, under the direction of Chief John Carney; and a unit devoted to general narcotics crime and money laundering, under the direction of Chief Stephen Taylor. The latter will be named the OCDETF Unit - Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Schecter will supervise the Strike Force (organized crime) Unit, under the continued direction of Chief Kevin McCarthy; the Government Fraud Unit, under the direction of Chief Carlos Ortiz; the Violent Crimes Unit, under the direction of Chief Marc Agnifilo; and the Commercial Crimes Unit, under the direction of Chief Donna Gallucio.

The organizational chart puts three of the office's traditional divisions - Special Prosecutions (public corruption), Appeals and the Civil Division - outside of the Criminal Division umbrella and reporting directly to the Executive Office. The leadership in those divisions remains the same: Michael Chagares, Chief of the Civil Division; James Nobile, Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division; and George Leone, Chief of the Appeals Division.

The Trenton and Camden offices will be under the supervision of Deputy U.S. Attorney Solomon. He will be joining the office in June and will recommend structural changes to Christie at that time. Former Chief of the Frauds and Public Protection Division Michael Guadagno is being moved to the Trenton Office, but at the level of Senior Litigation Counsel, a title now held by five Assistant U.S. Attorneys, including Guadagno.