USDOJ: US Attorney's Office - West Virginia Northern

Betsy C. Jividen – First Assistant United States Attorney Betsy Jividen

Betsy Steinfeld Jividen is the First Assistant United States Attorney. Over the course of her career, she has been named to this senior leadership position by three different United States Attorneys.

When she was sworn in as an Assistant in 1980, Ms. Steinfeld Jividen became
the first woman to hold the position in the Northern District of West Virginia. Over the past thirty years, she has served in both the Criminal and Civil Divisions, has been responsible for all types of civil and criminal litigation typically handled by the office, and has also held the positions of Civil Chief, Senior Litigation Counsel, and Interim United States Attorney.

Ms. Jividen also served a number of years as an Adjunct Professor at the
West Virginia University College of Law, teaching sections in both Appellate Advocacy and Trial Advocacy. She is a graduate of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and the West Virginia University College of Law.
She and her husband are the parents of four children.

John C. Parr – Counsel to the United States Attorney John Parr

John C. Parr is the Counsel to the United States Attorney, and is the
Coordinator of the Financial Crimes Unit.

Mr. Parr has been an Assistant United States Attorney since 1990, beginning in the Southern District of West Virginia and transferring to the Northern District of West Virginia in 2002. During his tenure, Mr. Parr has served in various capacities including Criminal Chief, Lead Task Force Attorney for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), and Senior Litigation Counsel. He has handled a variety of cases including OCDETF, political corruption, union violence, and violent crimes.

Mr. Parr graduated magna cum laude from Marshall University in 1976 and earned his law degree from West Virginia University in 1979, where he served
on the Editorial Board of the Law Review. He is the father of two sons and has three grandsons.

Helen Campbell Altmeyer – Civil Division Chief Helen Altmeyer

Helen Campbell Altmeyer is the Chief of the Civil Division. She has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division since 1989. Ms. Altmeyer has represented the United States, its agencies, and representatives in all types of affirmative and defensive civil litigation, with a particular emphasis and specialization in the defense of medical malpractice actions.

Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Ms. Altmeyer was an Associate at Bachmann, Hess, Bachmann & Garden, in Wheeling, West Virginia. She also served as an Assistant County Prosecutor in Ohio County, West Virginia, where she was primarily responsible for handling child abuse and neglect cases.

Ms. Altmeyer is a graduate of Villanova University and earned her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She and her husband have raised two sons and two daughters.

Shawn Angus Morgan – Criminal Division Chief Shawn Morgan

Shawn Angus Morgan is the Chief of the Criminal Division. She has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division since 2002. Ms. Morgan also serves as the Professional Responsibility Advisor. She has handled cases involving narcotics conspiracies, firearms offenses, violent crimes, and crimes against children, among other areas of the law.

Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Ms. Morgan was an Associate at Robinson & McElwee, PLLC in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and a Law Clerk for U. S District Judge Irene M. Keeley in the Northern District of West Virginia.

Ms. Morgan has a B.A. in Liberal Arts (1991) and law degree (1994) from
West Virginia University. She and her husband have two children.

Randolph J. Bernard – Deputy Criminal Chief Randy Bernard

Randolph J. Bernard is the Deputy Criminal Chief. Mr. Bernard joined the office in 2002, and has experience prosecuting a wide range of criminal
cases, including drugs and violent crimes, firearms, white collar offenses, fraud and tax cases, and child pornography cases.

Mr. Bernard has served as the District Office Security Manager.

Before becoming an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Bernard served
as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Wheeling, West Virginia Resident Agency. Prior to the FBI, he was a litigator with
Coolidge, Wall, Womsley & Lombard in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Bernard is a
1987 magna cum laude graduate of Ohio Northern University College of Law and a 1984 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Fawn E. Thomas – Administrative Officer Fawn Thomas

Fawn E. Thomas is the Administrative Officer, serving as the Chief of the Administrative Division and as the primary advisor to the United States Attorney for planning and managing all office resources. Ms. Thomas
has been with the office since 1983, and prior to her appointment as Administrative Officer, she served as the Public Affairs Specialist and the Human Resource Specialist. Ms. Thomas was an EEO Investigator for the Executive Office for United States Attorneys and is presently an Evaluation
and Review Staff Evaluator.

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