Ch-ch-ch Changes

Lots of change going on over at the U.S. Attorney's office. Multiple sources have told me that:

Ben Greenberg is now the 1st Assistant U.S. Attorney
Ed Stamm is Chief of Criminal
Ed Nucci has the new position of "Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern Offices"
Marcus Christian is the "Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney" in charge of hiring and recruiting
George Karavestos is the Chief of Narcotics
Joan Silverstein is the Chief of Economic and Environmental crimes
Bob Senior is the Chief of Public Integrity

Congrats to all.

Breaking! Interviews have been determined for judge and US Attorney

I will post the entire list shortly. (I'm getting a haircut right now!)

UPDATE -- Although the list is out, it's not public yet. I've heard from multiple sources that 15 of the 21 judicial applicants got interviews. Apparently the list will be made public tomorrow and I will post it as soon as I have it.

SECOND UPDATE -- A number of people have called and emailed me to let me know some of the 15 applicants on the list or interviewees. This is unconfirmed but I've heard from reliable sources that the list includes Kathy Williams, Mary Barzee, Bob Scola, Jerald Bagley and Robin Rosenbaum. 10 others made the cut. I am trying to find out more...

Breaking -- applicants for District Judge, U.S. Attorney, and Marshal

The applicants for District Judge are:

Jerald Bagley
Gerald Cope
Mary Barzee Flores
Darrin Gayles
Randee Golder
Judith Korchin
Robert Lee
Robert Levenson
Peter Lopez
Patricia Lowry
Ana Maria Martinez
Caroline Heck Miller
Maria Ortiz
Emmanuel Perez
Robin Rosenbaum
Robert Scola Jr.
Barry Seltzer
Tina Talarchyk
Patrick White
Kathleen Williams

For U.S. Attorney:

David Buckner
Reginald Corlew
Wilfredo Ferrer
Richard Gregorie
Ilona Holmes
Marvelle McIntyre-Hall
Brian Miller
Curtis Miner
Thomas Mulvihill
Lilly Ann Sanchez
Mark Schnapp
William Richard Scruggs
Jeffrey Sloman
James Swaim
Daryl Trawick
Sandra Wiseman

For U.S. Marshal

William "Bill" Berger
David Nieland
Christina Pharo
G. Wayne Tilman
Mark Weimer
Glen Wilner

Who will be the next U.S. Attorney?

Inside Track has a post here about the slow selection process. Here's a piece:

While other states are starting the interview process, the federal Judicial Nominating Commission in the Sunshine State still has not issued a notice seeking applications to replace Miami U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, whose term is up this summer. Acosta is interviewing Wednesday for the dean’s position at Florida International University’s law school.
The delay in calling for applications could mean that Acosta’s top assistant, Jeff Sloman, would likely serve as acting U.S. attorney. Sloman, a Democrat, is said to be interested in the job permanently.
Meanwhile, another potential applicant has emerged: Broward Circuit Judge Ilona M. Holmes.
After President Obama was elected and a turnover in U.S. attorneys was apparent, talk centered on Greenberg Traurig attorney Jackie Becerra, a Hispanic woman and the former right hand to U.S. Attorney Marcos Jimenez. But word is she’s happy at Greenberg, and her office confirmed Friday that she just adopted a baby. So, congratulations to Jackie.
Another name in the mix is Miami-Dade Assistant County Attorney Wilfredo Ferrer, a former federal prosecutor.
Other legal eagles who have surfaced as possible Acosta replacements are in alphabetical order David Buckner with Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton in Coral Gables, Brian Miller at Akerman Senterfitt in Miami, Curtis Miner at Colson Hicks Eidson in Coral Gables, Mark Schnapp of Greenberg Traurig, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Daryl Trawick and Bruce Udolf at Berger Singerman in Fort Lauderdale.
Diversity came up as an issue for women, blacks and Cuban-American Democrats looking at the makeup of the 56-member commission. Among the names mentioned so far, Holmes and Trawick are black, and the rest are white males.

The usual suspects

Jay Weaver has an article this morning about Alex Acosta being asked to stay until the Spring, and about his possible replacement. The usual suspects are listed: David Buckner, Curt Miner, Jackie Becerra, Mark Schnapp, Willie Ferrer, and Daryl Trawick.

Prison riot at Coleman High

Here's the article from CNN. Apparently, 8 inmates were injured, one by gunfire. More info as soon as it's available.

In other news, Vanessa Blum explains that the new U.S. Attorney will likely have different law enforcement priorities:

In the coming months, President Barack Obama will put his own stamp on crime-fighting efforts in South Florida by naming a new U.S. attorney to direct federal investigations and prosecutions.The new president's pick will head an elite office of lawyers and be responsible for translating the priorities of the Obama White House and the Department of Justice into local cases and convictions.The office, now supervised by Republican attorney Alex Acosta, operates largely out of public view, but wields great influence over law enforcement priorities and leads federal, state and local agencies in joint crime-fighting initiatives."A new U.S. attorney could set a different prosecutorial agenda," said attorney Justin Sayfie, who took part in recommending Acosta for the job. "It's an enormous, enormous power."

What do you think the feds should prioritize?

SDFLA criminal stats

The numbers are in. Criminal prosecutions are up 10% from last year, but still down significantly from 9-11. Vanessa Blum reports on the stats here:

At the current rate, the number of prosecutions in 2007 will be down roughly 12 percent from 2002, according to data analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research organization affiliated with Syracuse University.

Federal prosecutors in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit and Boston areas have seen even larger decreases in criminal filings over that period.

In this region, covering Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and six other counties, the number of drug cases has fallen dramatically, sliding from 1,461 in 2002 to 883 in 2006, according to the Syracuse group. As of April 2007, the seventh month of the fiscal year, prosecutors had filed roughly 580 drug-related cases, on track to surpass the 2006 figure but well below the 2001 prosecutions.

U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta: "When resources become limited, you have to prioritize." He added that the office is on its way to a record year for prosecutions targeting gang crime, illegal guns and health care fraud.The number of immigration cases is also rising, from about 300 in 2002 to 500 expected in 2007.

And a player to be named later...

Two more prosecutors have left the U.S. Attorney's office -- Chuck Duross is heading to DC to work in the fraud division and Matt Dates is taking a gig with the Red Cross. George Karavetsos was named as Duross' replacement as an Acting Deputy Chief in the Major Crimes Section. Also, Art Wyatt is the new Deputy Chief in the Narcotics Section starting in January (filling the spot vacated by Karen Gilbert when she was named Chief of the Major Crimes Section). Wyatt has been on a two-year detail to Bogota, Colombia as a Resident Legal Advisor for DOJ, and before that, he was working in the HIDTA office.