Press Release
U.S. ATTORNEY RESIGNS AFTER SERVING A FULL FOUR YEAR TERM
June 5, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida R. Alexander Acosta has resigned his position as the top federal law enforcement official in the District, effective on June 5, 2009. Acosta, 40, held the position of U.S. Attorney for a full four-year term, the longest of any U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida since 1977.
"It has been an honor to serve alongside the men and women of the U.S. Attorney's Office," Acosta said. "There are no finer prosecutors, attorneys and staff in the nation."
Under Acosta's leadership, the Southern District of Florida (SDFL) remained the most active trial District in the nation. The District tried 174 criminal cases in the last fiscal year, more than any other District. In addition, total criminal prosecutions consistently increased each year: from 2,332 in FY 2006, to 2,604 in FY 2007, to 2,789 in FY 2008.
Among the many high-profile cases Acosta successfully brought are the prosecution of Jack Abramoff, the prosecution of Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti, the prosecution of Palm Beach County Commissioner Warren Newell, the prosecution of Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty, the prosecution of Palm Beach City Commissioner Ray Liberti, the prosecution of West Palm Beach City Commissioner James Exline, and the prosecution of Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne, each for fraud or public corruption; the conviction of Jose Padilla; the conviction of Charles Taylor Jr., which marked the first prosecution in the nation for criminal torture under the Convention Against Torture; and the conviction of Cali Cartel founders Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela for the importation of 200,000 kilos of cocaine, which led to a $2.1 billion forfeiture.
Acosta placed particular emphasis on white collar prosecutions. In this area, most notable among Acosta's successes are the prosecution of Swiss bank officers Bradley Birkenfeld and Raoul Weil, and a deferred prosecution agreement with UBS, the Swiss banking giant, on tax evasion charges that, in addition to a $780 million in penalties, effectively pierced Swiss bank secrecy for the first time in history, as well as the prosecution of officials from Hamilton Bank, Bankest, and the Lancer Group in the largest bank, wire and securities fraud cases to be brought in the SDFL. Overall, under Acosta's leadership, white collar prosecutions increased in the SDFL to more than 20% of the District's total criminal docket, a record high.
Acosta developed a particular specialty in health care fraud and mortgage fraud prosecutions. Acosta formed the first in the nation Health Care Fraud Task Force and one of the nation's most successful Federal Mortgage Fraud Task Forces. In FY 2008, Acosta prosecuted 32% (152) of the nation's 502 health care fraud cases, and brought nearly 50 % (71 of 151) of the nation's mortgage fraud cases. Acosta also focused on civil health care fraud cases, including several qui tam matters such as the $175 million claim against Abbot Labs.
Within the U.S. Attorney's Office, Acosta formed the Special Prosecutions unit, which included the District's Gang and Gun Violence Task Force. As a result, local impact gang/gun related prosecutions increased from 224 to 405 per year.
The SDFL extends across Southern and Southeastern Florida, from Key West and the Everglades, north and east, through Okeechobee up to Vero Beach. The District represents more than 7 million individuals. The SDFL is, along with New York (SDNY), Los Angeles (CDCA) and Washington DC (DDC), one of the nation's four "very extra large districts," with 284 attorneys on-board.
A Miami native, Acosta earned his degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Law School before clerking with Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. when he served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He has previously served as a Senate-confirmed member of the National Labor Relations Board and as a Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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