Delahanty Flag Presentation

On September 9, 2022, Tom Delahanty’s former U.S. Attorney colleagues, Eric Miller, Rick Hartunian, Emily Rice, Carmen Ortiz and John Kacavas, presented the American flag flown over the Department of Justice in observance of Tom’s passing on April 12, 2021, to his wife, Ruth, and son Patrick. (See April 15, 2021, article about Tom Delahanty’s passing and remembering his outstanding career on the NAFUSA website.) The group enjoyed lunch on the Boston waterfront remembering Tom’s wit, wisdom, good humor, and devoted service.

Above is a photo of Tom with his wife and U.S. Attorney colleagues at a Northern Border Conference in Lake Placid, N.Y. in September, 2011.

 

Death of Earl Silbert

Long time NAFUSA member and president 1985-1986, Earl J. Sibert died on September 6, 2022, near his vacation home in New Hampshire. He was 86. In 1972, Mr. Silbert, then a 36-year-old Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C., led the federal prosecution of defendants in the botched Watergate burglary. He and a team of two other AUSAs and FBI agents secured the convictions of all five burglars and two of the planners of the break-in, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy. All defendants
except Mr. Liddy and James McCord pleaded guilty shortly after the trial began in January 1973. Mr. Silbert earned the title “Earl the Pearl,” for his polished manner during the case. After the trial, Mr. Silbert and his team met with others involved in the break in and cover up and later provided that information, along with names of potential targets, to Archibald Cox, who had been appointed Watergate Special Prosecutor.

Mr. Silbert obtained his Bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard University in 1957 and went on to earn a law degree from Harvard in 1960. He began working for the Department of Justice’s Tax Division right out of law school before becoming an AUSA for five years in the Washington D.C. U.S. Attorneys Office. He returned to the Justice Department in 1969, briefly, before returning to the U.S. Attorneys Office in 1970. He became Interim U.S. Attorney in 1974 when his predecessor left because of illness.

Mr. Silbert was first nominated for the permanent position by President Nixon and later renominated by President Gerald Ford. He was finally confirmed by the Senate in October 1975 and served until 1979 when he left the office to enter private practice. He gained a national reputation for his white collar defense practice, representing, among others, former Attorney General Bell and Kenneth Lay, former chairman and CEO of Enron.

A flag was flown over the Department of Justice on September 15, 2022, in Mr. Silbert’s honor and will be presented to his family by NAFUSA member George Terwilliger at a memorial service to be held in October.

Death of Bill Hyslop

Former United States Attorney and lifetime NAFUSA member William (Bill) Hyslop died September 11,2022, at the age of 71. Bill, a Spokane native, was born on March 22, 1951, and spent more than 40 years practicing law in Eastern Washington. He was the only person to serve two separate terms as the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Washington. He was nominated in 1991 by President H.W. Bush and served until 1993, returning to the Spokane based office of Lukins & Clinton, where he was a principal. He later served under President Trump from 2019 to 2021. He is quoted as saying that “serving our great Country as the United States Attorney has been the highest honor and most fulfilling duty of my professional career.”

Bill obtained his bachelor’s degree from Washington State University and earned his law degree from the Gonzaga University School of Law. During his career, he actively supported the legal profession, including serving as president of the Washington State Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association for the Eastern District of Washington. He took great pride in serving on the board of the Legal Foundation of Washington, a nonprofit providing funds for civil legal services for low-income residents. Bill was a friend and supporter of law enforcement, recognizing the important work they do. Following his service as U.S. Attorney, he became a founding Board member of the Spokane Alliance for Fentanyl Education (“SAFE”).

A flag was flown over the Department of Justice on September 15, 2022, in Bill’s honor, and, in the tradition of NAFUSA, will be presented to his family.

Former Federal Judge Harry Mattice, Jr. Opens Firm in Chattanooga, TN

NAFUSA member Harry S. (Sandy) Mattice, Jr., who stepped down from the federal bench in East Tennessee in March 2021, announced the opening of The Mattice Group, a law firm with offices in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which he will head. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench by President George W. Bush in November 2005, Sandy served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee from October 2001 to November 2005.

Passing of Former U.S. Attorney Andrew Maloney

Andrew J. Maloney, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and
former NAFUSA member, passed away on August 15, 2022, at the age of 90. He served as the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn from 1986 to 1992, where he successfully tried the case that sent Mafia boss John Gotti to prison for murder and racketeering. He personally delivered the prosecution’s opening statement and one of its summations. During his tenure, the office obtained convictions against powerful New York politicians, including Mel Miller, and reputed bosses of the Lucchese and Bonanno crime families. Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and NAFUSA member, Mary Jo White, worked as his deputy prior to becoming U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. She praised her former boss for understanding “the impact of the power that prosecutors wield and how really important it is to keep your humility and your moral compass about that.”

Mr. Maloney graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1954
and later served with the Army Rangers. After leaving the military he attended Fordham
University Law School at night and, after graduating in 1961, served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York for over a decade. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in 1986.

Current EDNY U.S. Attorney Breon Peace gave a statement mourning the passing of Mr. Maloney, describing him as having a “…passion for doing justice, a toughness honed as a boxer at West Point and Army Ranger, and supreme confidence in his prosecutors that resulted in amazing work during his tenure.”

A mass for Mr. Mahoney was held on August 22, 2022, honoring his life and his service
which was attended by many former U.S. Attorneys and federal prosecutors, including his son, Andrew. As is NAFUSA custom, a flag was flown over the Department of Justice in Mr. Mahoney’s honor and will be presented to his family.

John Brownlee depicted in Hulu miniseries Dopesick

Lifetime NAFUSA member John Brownlee and members of his prosecution team are depicted in the Emmy award-winning Hulu miniseries Dopesick for their investigation and prosecution of Purdue Pharma in 2007 for the misleading branding of the opioid OxyContin, an addictive pain killing medication. The miniseries explores the beginning of the opioid crisis and its development through the Grand Jury investigation led by John and two AUSAs in his office from the perspective of Purdue Pharma, the company that aggressively marketed OxyContin, the lawyers and government officials who investigated the misleading branding of the drug, and the doctors and patients impacted.

Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty again in 2021 to criminal charges brought by the Department of Justice related to defrauding federal health agencies and violating anti-kickback laws. A six billion dollar civil settlement was reached earlier this year in a case brought against Purdue Pharma by 23 state Attorneys General and roughly 2000 local governments.

John served as United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia under George W. Bush from 2001-2008.

Dettelbach Sworn in as ATF Director

 

Lifetime NAFUSA member Steve Dettelbach was sworn in as the new Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on July 13, 2022, by President Joe Biden. Dettelbach was nominated by President Biden on April 22, 2022 and was ultimately confirmed by the Senate on July 12. He is the second-ever Senate-confirmed ATF Director, the first being Todd Jones, who left ATF in 2015. Jones had previously served as United States Attorney for Minnesota under both Presidents Clinton and Obama.

Dettelbach served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
under the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2016. He left that position in 2016 to
return to BakerHofstetler where he served as co-leader of that firm’s White Collar,
Investigations and Securities Enforcement and Litigation Team.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Dettelbach vowed he would not be
influenced by political considerations and promised to uphold the law free from
political interference. In a statement following the confirmation, Attorney General
Merrick B. Garland praised Dettelbach, saying “Steve understands the importance and
urgency of ATF’s mission, and I am confident he will lead ATF with integrity,
dedication, and skill.”

At Dettelbach’s investiture on July 19, the Attorney General referenced the
celebration of ATF’s 50th anniversary founding as an independent agency in June. He
remarked that the ATF’s mission has never been more urgent than it is today. He
praised Dettelbach and thanked him for coming back to the Justice Department and
said that as a career prosecutor and former United States Attorney, “…Steve
understands the importance of ATF’s mission to protect our communities from
violent crime and the scourge of gun violence.

Supreme Court Gives Oklahoma Jurisdiction Over Tribal Lands

The Supreme Court in June ruled 5-4 that the State of Oklahoma can
prosecute non-Native Americans in Indian Country, clawing back part of
its 2020 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma which limited the state’s
jurisdiction in land governed by federal treaties. The McGirt decision
reasoned that the Creek Nation’s reservation in Oklahoma had never
been properly de-established, thus the eastern part of Oklahoma,
including Tulsa, was recognized as Indian Country with exclusive
Federal and Tribal jurisdiction. The Court’s ruling in McGirt’s most
notable consequence was criminal cases being transferred from state
courts to Federal and tribal venues which had exclusive jurisdiction to
prosecute crimes committed by or against an Indian in Indian Country.
The decision greatly increased the criminal caseloads in impacted U.S.
Attorney Offices.

The Court’s latest ruling, Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, took a limited
view of sovereignty of tribes in 21st century America, discounting the
significance of 19th century treaties, and asserted that “Indian country is
part of the State” not separate from it. The opinion, written by Justice
Kavanaugh, reasoned that, as a result, the state retains jurisdiction
there unless Congress expressly suspended it, and held that the Federal
Government and the State of Oklahoma have concurrent jurisdiction to
prosecute crimes committed by a non-Indian against an Indian in Indian Country.

John Wood Launches Senate Campaign

NAFUSA lifetime member John Wood on Wednesday launched his campaign in Missouri for U.S. Senator, running as an Independent to the field of Democratic and Republican candidates. Wood, who served as United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri from 2007 to 2009 and served in several senior level positions during the Bush Administration, was named Senior Investigative Counsel for the House January 6th Select Committee in September 2021. He resigned as the lead investigator for the Committee last week before launching his bid to run for the U.S. Senate.

Wood graduated from Harvard Law School and was the articles chair of the Harvard Law Review. He clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He was named chief legal officer and general counsel to the U.S .Chamber of Commerce in May 2018. Wood is married to Julie Myers Wood, the C.E.O. of NAFUSA sponsor Guidepost Solutions.

To qualify for the November 8 ballot in the race for retiring Republican Sen. Roy Blount’s seat, he must submit 10,000 signatures to the Missouri secretary of state’s office by August 1.