Criminal Division
The Criminal Division has 15 full-time prosecutors stationed in Des Moines, Iowa and 5 full-time prosecutors stationed in Davenport. These prosecutors have primary responsibility for the prosecution of more than 900 federal crimes. Federal crimes are defined by Congress and are distinguished from criminal offenses that are prohibited by acts of the state legislature.
These include cases in the following areas: violation of drug laws; public corruption; white collar crime including bank fraud, telemarketing fraud and health care fraud; violation of federal firearms law; environmental crimes; violet crime; bank robberies; gang crimes; child pornography; and postal crimes.
The Criminal Division divides the Southern District of Iowa into three prosecution zones: eastern, central and western. The eastern zone is served by the Davenport Branch Office and federal investigative agencies from the Quad Cities of Iowa, Illinois, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The eastern zone covers ten counties in southeast Iowa, and includes among others the cities of Davenport, Bettendorf, Iowa City, Muscatine, Burlington, and Ft. Madison. The central zone is served by the Des Moines Office and federal investigative agencies from Des Moines. The central zone covers twenty-seven counties in south central Iowa, and includes among others the cities of the Des Moines Metropolitan Area, Ames, Boone, Newton, Marshalltown, Ottumwa, and Creston. The western zone is served by the Des Moines Office and federal investigative agencies from Omaha, Nebraska. The western zone covers eleven counties in southwest Iowa, and includes among others the cities of Council Bluffs, Missouri Valley, Red Oak, Atlantic and Clarinda.
Suspected violations of federal law are usually brought to the attention of the United States Attorney's Office by federal, state and local investigative agencies such as, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and firearms (ATF); Postal Inspection Service; Internal Revenue Service (IRS); Customs Service; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE).
Criminal division prosecutors also work closely with the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE) and a number of regional drug enforcement task forces across the Southern District of Iowa.