Reid Schar, recipient of NAFUSA’s J. Michael Bradford Award in 2012, has been named by the New Jersey General Assembly to act as special counsel for the committee to investigate allegations that aides to Governor Christie caused the closure of lanes leading from Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge for political retaliation.
Schar was nominated for the Bradford Award by NAFUSA member Patrick Fitzgerald, then the U.S. Attorney for the ND of Illinois. The award recognized Schar’s work in the investigation and prosecution of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Schar served as an AUSA from 1999 to 2012, when he left government service to join Jenner & Block in Chicago.
Several hundred photos from the September 2013 Washington conference have been added to the NAFUSA online photo gallery.
The four most recent thumbnails in the gallery represent the Thursday evening reception at Jones Day, the Friday and Saturday day events, and the Saturday banquet. When you click on an event, a new page opens with thumbnails of images from that particular day or event. (Direct links to the four individual events are below.)
On an event thumbnail page, you may enlarge (or decrease) the size of the thumbnails with the slider at the top right.
For a slideshow of all of the images from that event, click Slideshow at the top left.
Click on any image on the thumbnails page for a large version of that photo. You can then proceed through the photos one-at-a-time (using the v-shaped arrows at the right and left of image).
You may download or order a print of any individual photo using the buttons at the top. For the 2013 Conference downloaded files are 3456 x 2304, approximately 1 MB each.
During this year’s NAFUSA conference in Washington, all NAFUSA members were invited to attend a “Day at Justice”: an entire afternoon at Main Justice. The format was informal, with NAFUSA members leading a “dialogue” with Department leaders. NAFUSA President Jay Stephens led a discussion with DAG Jim Cole; Ken Wainstein with FBI Director Jim Comey; Joe Whitley with Associate AG Tony West; and incoming NAFUSA President Don Stern with EOUSA Director Marshall Jarrett, AGAC Chair Loretta Lynch and Associate Deputy AG David Margolis.
The event was hosted by EOUSA which did a great job of making NAFUSA members comfortable and welcome. At the end of the discussion, EOUSA invited the NAFUSA members to gather in the DOJ courtyard for a group photo, shown above.
Jay Stephens with DAG Jim Cole
Ken Wainstein with Director JIm Comey
Joe Whitley with Associate AG Tony West
Don Stern with Loretta Lynch, David Margolis and Marshall Jarrett
As the DC conference came to a close last Saturday evening, newly installed President Don Stern told the audience that “he could not promise to beat the effort” of outgoing President Jay Stephens, but he promised to “match it” next year in Boston. In the photo above, Stern is handing Stephens a parting gift for his year of outstanding service: a 150 year old antique spy glass.
Stephens led a conference planning committee consisting of Kent Alexander, Jeff Taylor, Sharon Zealey, Ken Wainstein and Rich Rossman, who put together a well received program, capped by the keyote address by Pete Williams, of NBC, shown above. Other highlights included five outsanding panels: “Navigating the False Claims Act”, “National Security and Surveillance”, “Counter-terrorism, National Security and the Law”, “Criminal Disclosure Ethics” and “Supreme Court Issues.” In addition, all NAFUSA members were invited to spend Friday afternoon at the Department of Justice to meet with DAG Jim Cole, FBI Director Jim Comey, Associate AG Tony West and the leaders of the US Attorney community: Marshall Jarrett, Loretta Lynch and David Margolis. [It was hoped that we would be able to post the photo that DOJ took of the NAFUSA members assembled in the courtyard of Main Justice, but the shutdown has made the photographer unavailable.] A full list of the conference speakers can be found on the NAFUSA website under the link for “conferences.”
Among the highlights of the conference were the Friday night “reunion” dinners. Bill Lutz was able to obtain an invitation from Justice Alito, who served as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, to have the Reagan-Bush I US Attorneys dine at the Supreme Court. The Justice is shown above with Jay and Julie Stephens. Below is a photo of the entire US Attorney group with the Justice.
The Carter alums also held an alumni dinner and invited former Attorney Genral Ben Civiletti and his wife. In addition, Ninth Circuit Judge Mike Hawkins, who flew in just for Friday night, attended, as did Marti Robinson, wife of the late Jim Robinson. The Carter group graciously invited some of the more senior members who, although not Carter US Attorneys, had no other class reunions to attend. The Carter group and friends are shown below.
Donald K. Stern, shown below, was elected to serve as NAFUSA president until the next conference in Boston on Columbus Day weekend, October 9-11, 2014, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. The new slate of officers elected were: President Elect Matt Orwig, Vice President Greg Vega, Secretary Bart Daniel, Treasurer Doug Jones and Immediate Past President Jay Stephens.
The board members elected to serve a three year term were Alice Martin, Catherine Hanaway, Kevin O’Connor, Hal Hardin and Bob Cleary. Zach Carter was elected to fill a vacancy in the class of 2014 caused by Doug Jones moving into the chairs.
In addition to the 2014 conference being held in Boston, the 2015 conference will be in Scotsdale and the 2016 conference in San Diego.
NAFUSA retained a professional photographer to depict the events of the conference, and many photos will soon be posted on the website along with photos from past conferences.
Finally a word about our sponsors. NAFUSA raised $97,500 in sponsor contribuitons this year, by far a new record. A full list can be found on this page. The conference would not have been possible without this support. Our sponsors deserve a “shout out” as well as our business!
Pete Williams will give the keynote address on September 28, 2013 at the JW Marriott Washington. Williams is an NBC News correspondent based in Washington. He has been covering the Justice Department and the U.S. Supreme Court since March 1993.
Prior to joining NBC, Williams served as a press official on Capitol Hill for many years. In 1986 he joined the Washington staff of then Congressman Dick Cheney as press secretary and a legislative assistant. In 1989, when Cheney was named assistant secretary of defense, Williams was appointed assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. While in that position, Williams was named Government Communicator of the Year in 1991 by the National Association of Government Communicators.
A native of Casper, Wyoming and a graduate of Stanford University, Williams was a reporter and news director at KTWO-TV and Radio in Casper from 1974 to 1985. Working with the Radio-Television News Directors Association, for which he served as a member of its board of directors, he successfully lobbied the Wyoming Supreme Court to permit broadcast coverage of its proceedings and twice sued Wyoming judges over pre-trial exclusion of reporters from the courtroom. For these efforts, he received a First Amendment Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Williams will also moderate the panel of the Supreme Court to be held on Saturday morning. The panel will feature NAFUSA member Ted Olson and prominent Supreme Court practioneer, Carter Phillips.
Each year, NAFUSA recognizes an Assistant U.S. Attorney for outstanding performance through the J. Michael Bradford Memorial Award. The award is named after J. Michael Bradford, who served as a U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas from 1994 to 2001. Bradford, who died in 2003, had a distinguished career in public service, including successfully defending the government against lawsuits stemming from the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian’s compound in Waco, Texas. NAFUSA annually solicits nominations from current U.S. Attorneys for the Bradford Award. Typically, the recipient has handled a significant investigation and prosecution or series of prosecutions that has had a significant impact and merits special recognition.
Once again, a number of exceptional nominations were made by U.S. Attorneys around the country. The Michael Bradford Award Committee was chaired by NAFUSA Vice President Matt Orwig. Its members included Ed Dowd, Hal Hardin, Karen Hewitt, Paul Coggins, Joe Whitley and Rich Rossman. This year, the Board voted to give the award to Michael Bosworth.
Bosworth, shown above, is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York and was nominated by his U.S. Attorney, Preet Bharara. Bosworth currently is the co-chief of the Complex Frauds Unit in the SDNY. In that role, he oversees the Office’s criminal prosecutions of financial fraud, cybercrime, tax fraud, health care fraud, intellectual property crimes, and FCPA violations, among other white collar crimes. Prior to his current assignment, he served as deputy chief of the Public Corruption Unit, where he successfully prosecuted former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, former New York State Senator Carl Kruger, and financial advisor Kenneth Starr. Mr. Bosworth clerked for the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York. He graduated Princeton University summa cum laude in 2000 and graduated Yale Law School in 2003.
Bosworth supervises a team of senior AUSAs who handle the most complex cases in the SDNY. Perhaps his most notable case in the past year was the case against prominent hackers in the “Anonymous” case. He also handled the overseas tax evasion initiative of the office which led to the indictment and conviction of Wegelin & Co., Switzerland’s oldest bank, for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers to conceal more than $1.2 billion kept in Swiss bank accounts. He was also the driving force behind numerous financial fraud cases including the prosecution of of the massive $1 billion fraud in which employees of the Long Island Rail Road retired early and falsely claimed to be disabled; a $100 million fraud in which brokers defrauded insurance companies into issuing stranger-owned life insurance policies; and a $66 million mortgage fraud that resulted in the convictions of five corrupt attorneys.
Preet Bharara told the Bradford Award committee that Bosworth “is a mentor to others in the office.” He sees Bosworth as a practical thinker with a “great sense of humor.” In addition to his work in the office, Bosworth volunteers on weekends and nights on a suicide hotline.
Bosworth will be presented with the Bradford Award on Saturday, September 28, 2013, at NAFUSA’s conference in Washington.
The Board considered many other outstanding nominations made by U.S. Attorneys. In recognition for the exceptional work performed by these other assistant U.S. attorneys, NAFUSA will award a plaque to each AUSA, which will be presented by the U.S. Attorney in their respective office, along with in some cases a member of NAFUSA from that district.
The other nominees were:
Michael K. Atkinson, nominated by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., District of Columbia, for his work in connection with his prosecution of Operation Five Aces, a $1 billion domestic bribery/federal contracting case.
Aloke S. Charkravarty, nominated by U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, District of Massachusetts for his work in high profile national security cases and outreach to Arab, Sikh and Muslim communities.
Randal A. Sengel, nominated by the Western District of Oklahoma for a lifetime of achievement, including service on the Nichols prosecution team.
Elizabeth S. Tonkin, nominated by United States Attorney William C. Killian, Eastern District of Tennessee, for her work in settling the Hill-Rom case, a $41.8 million settlement with one of the nation’s largest suppliers of durable medical equipment.
Nichole A. Engisch, nominated by United States Attorney B. Todd Jones, District of Minnesota, for her work in prosecuting two of the largest corporate fraud cases in Minnesota history.
Deborah A. Griffin, nominated by the Southern District of Alabama for her work in prosecuting a conspiracy involving eBay and black market sales of stolen and fraudulently-obtained electronics.
Sheldon N. Light, nominated by United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade, Eastern District of Michigan, for his work in prosecuting public corruption and white collar cases.
Brian D. Pugh, nominated by United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden, District of Nevada, for his prosecution of major mortgage fraud cases.
Robert H. Norman, nominated by the Northern District of Mississippi for his his prosecution of a series of prosecutions of judicial bribery cases, including Richard Scruggs.
John L. Walker, nominated by United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley, Western District of Louisiana, for his work in prosecuting the Dreamboard Child Exploitation cases, resulting in 46 convictions.
John J. Durham, nominated by United States Attorney Loretta E. Lynch, Eastern District of New York, for his prosecution of members of the notorious street gang, La Mara Salvatrucha (“MS-13”).
Barbara Bearnson, nominated by United States Attorney David B. Barlow, District of Utah, for her work in prosecution of sexual and physical abuse cases.
Our Friday afternoon, September 27, 2013, the NAFUSA conference will feature Michael Isikoff as the luncheon speaker at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC.
Isikoff is the national investigative correspondent for NBC News, specializing in in national security and law enforcement issues. He has been a lead reporter for the network on the Boston Marathon bombing, the Newtown shooting massacre, the Penn State sex abuse scandal, and other major national stories. He has appeared frequently on NBC Nightly News, the Today show, Morning Joe, the Rachel Maddow Show, and many other MSNBC shows.
Isikoff is the author of two New York Times best-selling books: “Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War,” co-written with David Corn, and “Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter’s Story,” which chronicled his own reporting of the Monica Lewinsky story. A one hour MSNBC documentary based on Hubris aired in Feb. 2012 and was the highest rated documentary on the network in a decade.
Prior to joining NBC News, Isikoff was a national investigative correspondent for Newsweek magazine where his work earned multiple awards, including two National Magazine Awards. In 2009, Isikoff was named on a list of the 50 “Best and Most Influential Journalists” in the nation’s capital by Washingtonian magazine.
Isikoff came to Newsweek from The Washington Post, where he had been a reporter since September 1981. Isikoff graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in 1974 and received a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 1976.
This year’s NAFUSA conference will be held at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC, September 26-28, 2013. Click on the “Conferences” link above for more information and for a list of speakers and their bios and a list of this year’s sponsors.
NAFUSA had a block of rooms available at the JW Marriott at a special conference rate or $264 a night. The conference rate, however, was only available until September 9, 2013. You can, however, call the hotel to check on availability.
NAFUSA members from the Reagan and Bush I administrations attending this year’s NAFUSA conference in Washington will gather on Friday evening, September 27, for a reunion dinner at the United States Supreme Court. This very special event was put together by Past President Bill Lutz, who made the arrangements through the office of Justice Alito, shown right, who has promised to try to attend at least a portion of the dinner. Justice Alito is a member of this reunion class, having served as the Reagan appointed United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey 1987-1990
Lutz has sent out an invitation to members of the Reagan-Bush I class. If you are a member and did not receive an invitation, contact Lutz at 575-526-2448 or wlutz@questoffice.net. The Friday night reunion dinners have become a NAFUSA tradition and it is expected that other classes will also be announcing plans soon.
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