WASHINGTON, DC --The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division today named Gary R. Spratling of Tiburon, California, as the Division's Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement.

Spratling, 52, a career prosecutor with more than 20 years of antitrust experience, succeeds Joseph H. Widmar in the top career position in the Division. Widmar, who retired after 33 years of government service, was given a plaque honoring his service to the Division and his supervision of the prosecution of more than half, or 1,176, of all criminal antitrust cases filed since the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890.

Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, said Spratling will be responsible for the Division's criminal investigations and litigation nationwide. "Gary brings years of litigation and management experience, a stunning record of achievements, and the respect of the Division's litigators to this critically important position. He is the right person to lead the implementation of a new criminal case initiative the Division has in the works," said Bingaman.

For the past 11 years, Spratling has been Chief of the Division's San Francisco Field Office where he was responsible for supervising criminal, civil and merger litigation throughout 11 western states--from Alaska to Arizona and from Wyoming to Hawaii. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including two of the highest honors awarded by the Department: the John Marshall Award (1988) and the Presidential Rank Award (1991).

Spratling received his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1971 and his B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley in 1964 and 1966, respectively.

Spratling has been active as a speaker and an officer in bar association activities. He served four years as an officer of the State Bar of California's Antitrust Section, including chair in 1992-1993, and continues as an advisor to the section. In the American Bar Association, he serves as an Executive Committee Member of the Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division and as Vice Chair of the Antitrust Section's Criminal Practice and Procedure Committee.

"Gary is asked to speak all over the country because he is an expert in the field and an outstanding communicator," said Bingaman. "These qualities will add tremendously to the Division's core mission of criminal antitrust enforcement."

Spratling's dedication to public service has extended to community activities. He served as mayor of Tiburon, California, from 1983 through 1984; Chairman of the Board of the Marin Community Foundation, the third largest community foundation in the country, from 1987 through 1991; and as chair or board member of many San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit organizations.