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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General Janet Reno today said that Robert Conrad will be the chief prosecutor of the Campaign Financing Task Force. Conrad replaces David Vicinanzo, who has returned to New Hampshire to be with his family. Vicinanzo, who remains with the Justice Department as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Hampshire, has agreed to serve as a consultant to the Task Force.

Last month, Reno selected Seattle attorney Scott Fredericksen for the post. But after Fredericksen accepted the position, family matters prevented him from leaving Seattle.

Conrad, who assumes the post immediately, has served as a prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office in Charlotte, North Carolina since January 1989. He has been the Criminal Chief of the office since 1992.

During his work as a federal prosecutor, Conrad has handled a wide variety of cases, involving public corruption, white collar fraud, money laundering, organized crime, and drug trafficking. He is a frequent lecturer at Department of Justice, state bar and law enforcement seminars on subjects including the federal sentencing guidelines, death penalty litigation, ethics, firearms trafficking, and gang prosecutions. He has received awards and commendations from the FBI, the Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

"Bob is one of the most respected career prosecutors in the Department of Justice and has prosecuted a wide variety of cases with great success," said Reno. "We are fortunate to have someone with Bob's tremendous talents assuming this important position. I am certain that Bob will expand upon the successes that the Task Force has achieved."

Reno established the Task Force in the fall of 1996 to investigate allegations of campaign financing abuses in the 1996 election cycle. To date, 22 individuals have been charged.

"Bob is one of the most capable prosecutors I have ever had the opportunity to work with," said Mark Calloway, the U.S. Attorney in Charlotte, N.C., where Conrad serves as Criminal Chief. "He is a relentless investigator, and has a high sense of duty and fairness. Bob represents the ideal of what a career prosecutor should be. He is the perfect choice for this very important position."

"Bob is seasoned prosecutor and skilled trial attorney," said United States District Court Judge and former North Carolina Attorney General Lacy H. Thornburg. "He has an excellent courtroom presence and is totally forthright with the Court and opposing counsel. He should do an outstanding job."

"Bob is a very aggressive, sharp and dedicated prosecutor. He has a wealth of prosecutorial experience to handle any job he takes on," added Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Potter.

Conrad is a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School and Clemson University, where he was an academic all-American on the Clemson basketball team and a Rhodes Scholar candidate.

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