Attorney General Awards Nine Members Of U.S. Attorney'S Office For The Southern District Of New York With Honors At Annual Ceremony
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that nine representatives of the Office are recipients of this year's Attorney General awards. The award recipients were honored today, along with 282 Justice Department employees and 57 others, at the Department’s 60th Annual Attorney General’s Awards Ceremony at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
Attorney General Eric Holder said: “This year’s award recipients have made significant contributions across, and far beyond, the Department of Justice and helped to protect the rights, safety and best interests of the citizens we are privileged to serve. I am grateful for the dedication and passion that these extraordinary public servants bring to their work, and I am honored to count them as colleagues.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: "This year’s Attorney General award-winners exemplify the extraordinary talent, dedication, and commitment that are the hallmarks of this Office. I am proud to count them as my colleagues, and I congratulate them for this great honor. Their collective commitment to public service continues to benefit the citizens of New York and the entire country.”
Award for Distinguished Service
Reed M. Brodsky, Andrew L. Fish, Andrew Z. Michaelson, Rahul Mukhi, Jonathan R. Streeter, Avi Weitzman
U.S. v. Rajaratnam, et al.
The Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service is the Department’s second highest award for employee performance. The recipients of this award exemplify the highest commitment to the Department’s mission. Assistant U.S. Attorneys REED M. BRODSKY, ANDREW L. FISH, ANDREW Z. MICHAELSON, RAHUL MUKHI, JONATHAN R. STREETER (former), and AVI WEITZMAN were honored with this award for their outstanding work on the successful prosecution of Raj Rajaratnam and his criminal associates in the largest insider trading case in history. Rajaratnam, the billionaire founder of the Galleon Group, was, for more than 10 years, the leader of an extensive network of insiders at public companies who repeatedly took advantage of ordinary investors and corrupted United States capital markets by trading based on material nonpublic information, reaping millions of dollars in illegal profits. This case represents the first use of wiretaps to prosecute insider trading schemes. Rajaratnam is serving an 11 year sentence in federal prison.
Award for Distinguished Service
George F. Corey, Adam S. Hickey, Benjamin A. Naftalis
U.S. v. Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame
The Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service was also awarded to Assistant U.S. Attorneys ADAM S. HICKEY, BENJAMIN A. NAFTALIS, and Criminal Investigator GEORGE F. COREY whose extraordinary collective service led to the prosecution of Ahmed Warsame, al Shabaab commander and emissary to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). With the authorization of the President of the United States, Warsame was captured by the U.S. military off the coast of Yemen. The FBI then later brought him to the Southern District of New York for prosecution on various terrorism-related offenses. The unparalleled coordination, dedication, and teamwork among the Department, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the intelligence community resulted in bringing an international terrorist to justice in a federal court.
The Attorney General's Annual Awards Ceremony provides an opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of a number of U.S. Department of Justice employees as well as individuals from outside the Department.
12-319
