FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2009
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/MA
CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING
PHONE: (617)748-3356
E-MAIL: USAMA.MEDIA@USDOJ.GOV
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION
BOSTON...United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan has announced that he will resign as United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts effective at midnight on Sunday, April 19, 2009.
Mr. Sullivan was nominated as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate in September 2001. Mr. Sullivan directed offices in Boston, Worcester and Springfield, comprising of approximately 200 attorneys and support staff. His priorities include national security, anti- terrorism, healthcare and financial fraud, exploitation of children, gun violence reduction, drug trafficking, organized crime and public corruption, to name a few.
As United States Attorney, Sullivan formed the District’s first Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council, in partnership with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies across the Commonwealth, and established the office’s first National Security and Anti-Terrorism Unit, to combat and prevent future terrorist attacks. During his tenure, Sullivan’s office prosecuted one of the nation’s first terrorism cases post September 11th. A man known as the “Shoe Bomber,” Richard Colvin Reid, was convicted of attempting to blow up an American Airlines flight on December 21, 2001 and sentenced to life in prison. The investigation ultimately led to the arrest of Reid’s co-conspirator, Saajid Mohammed Badat, by a British authorities.
Sullivan also created a new unit devoted to computer hacking/high technology crimes which include identity theft, internet auction and credit card fraud, economic espionage, copyright and trademark violations. In August 2008, Sullivan’s Computer Crimes Unit charged eleven individuals in the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice. More than 40 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen and distributed from major U.S. retailers, including TJX Companies, BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 and DSW.
In the area of healthcare fraud, Mr. Sullivan created a Healthcare Fraud Unit, which has become recognized as a national leader in joint civil and criminal investigations and prosecutions, and has, to date, recovered in excess of $4 billion, which accounts for nearly a quarter of the Department’s total recoveries nationwide. U.S. Attorney Sullivan also served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and as Chair of the Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Working Group.
In the area of public corruption, Sullivan was responsible for initiating a full-scale federal investigation into the $14.8 billion dollar Central Artery/Tunnel Project, known as the “Big Dig,” in Massachusetts. The investigation resulted in the recovery of more than half a billion dollars of taxpayers money. In addition, under Sullivan’s leadership, a number of public officials were convicted of public corruption offenses, including the former Mayor of Chicopee, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, former FBI Agent John Connolly and numerous law enforcement officers and attorneys. Between 2003-2005 and 2006-2008, the number of defendants indicted for public corruption offenses increased 50%.
Additionally, in an effort to better serve our youth and our communities, Sullivan developed highly targeted gun violence reduction strategies consistent with the President’s Project Safe Neighborhood Initiative and Operation Weed & Seed. In fact, between 2001 and 2008, there was more than a 120% increase in gun indictments, while office resources in this area remained level.
In August 2006, President George W. Bush nominated Mr. Sullivan as Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Washington D.C., the principal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice dedicated to preventing terrorism, reducing violent crime, and protecting our Nation. In this position, Sullivan oversaw over 5,000 ATF employees and an annual budget of close to $1 billion. Mr. Sullivan resigned from ATF on January 20, 2009.
In announcing his departure, Mr. Sullivan stated, “It has been a privilege to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts for the past 7 1/2 years. I believe that the duty and obligation to effect public policy through public service holds countless rewards, and it has truly been an honor to serve our great nation as U.S. Attorney and Acting ATF Director. I was humbled and grateful for President Bush’s confidence in me, and for the support I have received from the hard working and dedicated employees throughout ATF and at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts. I wish them, the Administration, and all of my colleagues in federal, state and local law enforcement continued success.”
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