FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CRM
THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1997                             (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888
                                 
                JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES FORMER
                 ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY IN L.A. 
 
     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice today announced
that it has filed a criminal information charging Andrew S. Pitt,
a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, in Los Angeles, California, with
three felony counts of wire fraud and conflict of interest for acts
conducted while he was employed at the Justice Department.  

     Pitt is charged with two counts of wire fraud, in violation of
18 U.S.C.  1343 and 1346, and one count of conflict of interest,
in violation of 18 U.S.C.  208.  The criminal information was
filed pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement.

     Pitt, 39, of Aqua Dulce, California was hired by the
Department of Justice in 1988.  Pitt  submitted his resignation
from his position on May 30, 1997.

     The criminal information charges Pitt with engaging in a
scheme and artifice to defraud the U.S. Department of Justice and
the citizens of the United States of his honest and faithful
services as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.  As alleged in the
information, Pitt is charged with the following activities:

     In April 1993, Pitt, acting under color of his authority as an
Assistant U.S. Attorney, obtained $33,000 from a person who was
cooperating with the United States government and Pitt.  Upon
obtaining this money, Pitt wrongfully used the entire sum for
personal purposes.

     From June 1994 through September 1994, Pitt directly and
indirectly accepted $98,000 from a cooperator who had previously
been convicted in the Northern District of Texas after Pitt had
performed, and while he was continuing to perform, official acts on
behalf of, or in connection with, the Texas cooperator.

     From April 1995 through July 1995, Pitt directly and
indirectly sought and accepted $35,000, a diamond and sapphire
"tennis bracelet" valued at approximately $800, and a cut diamond,
valued at approximately $1,500, from a cooperator previously
convicted in the Northern District of Georgia after Pitt had
performed, and while he was continuing to perform, official acts on
behalf of, or in connection with, the Georgia cooperator.

     In addition, in November and December 1994, Pitt engaged in a
conflict of interest by knowingly and willfully participating
personally and substantially as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in a
particular matter, that is, the entry into the United States of six
foreign nationals, in which he, his wife and his company in which
he and his wife served as officers and directors, had a financial
interest, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
 208.

     Each of the three felony violations carries a maximum possible
sentence of five years of in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three
years of supervised release.  

     The case against Pitt was investigated by the Los Angeles
Division of the F.B.I. and prosecuted by Nancy J. Newcomb, Senior
Trial Attorney, and Robert L. Walker and Miles F. Ehrlich, Trial
Attorneys, of the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section,
Criminal Division.
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