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Press Release

Deputy Attorney General Recognizes U.S. Attorney’s Office Prosecutors

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California

SAN FRANCISCO - Four Assistant United States Attorneys of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California (NDCA) are among the 162 members of the Department of Justice recognized by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) James Crowell, IV at the 34th Director’s Awards Ceremony today in Washington D.C.  The awards ceremony took place in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.  The local recipients of the awards include Joseph Alioto, Susan Badger, William Frentzen, and S. Waqar Hasib.

In his prepared remarks, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein told the awardees: “Today’s honorees earned the esteem of their colleagues.  But most importantly, they earned the gratitude of our fellow citizens — the people whose communities you made safer, whose lives you improved, and whose trust you rewarded. Today, we pause to honor and recognize a small portion of your work.”   

Acting U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse expanded on the Deputy Attorney General’s remarks stating, “We welcome the recognition by the senior members of the Department of Justice of the outstanding work of the members of this district.  We also join in the celebration of the accomplishments being recognized today.  The recipients of these awards have demonstrated that their commitment to ensuring that justice is done in even the most difficult cases will not be compromised, no matter how many hours of toil may be required.  We are tremendously proud of the recipients’ accomplishments and the examples they provide for all prosecutors.”

Joseph Alioto was recognized for his exemplary work in the NDCA's Strike Force Section, notably his outstanding contribution in a RICO prosecution against 12 high-ranking members of the Nuestra Familia prison gang in United States v. Cervantes.  The prosecution, involving three murders, multiple stabbings and robberies, and an arson and other crimes, culminated in a four-month trial and convictions against the gang's highest-ranking members.  Four gang members went to trial, all of whom were convicted of racketeering conspiracy, murder, murder conspiracy, attempted murder, assault with dangerous weapon, arson, and various firearms and drug-related crimes.  

Susan Badger, Wil Frentzen, and S. Waqar Hasib were recognized for their outstanding work in the investigation of organized crime and public corruption conspiracies centered in San Francisco’s Chinatown that culminated in the life sentence of Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow.   Chow served as the Dragonhead, or leader, of the San Francisco-based Chee Kung Tong organization.  Chow was charged in March 2014 with various racketeering crimes, including the illegal trafficking of controlled substances, extortion, and participation in the collection of illegal debts.  On October 15, 2015, the charges were amended in a Third Superseding Indictment to include murder.  On January 8, 2016, after a multi-month trial, Chow was convicted of arranging the murder of Allen Leung, conspiring with others to murder Jim Tat Kong, 162 counts of money laundering, laundering of proceeds of narcotics sales, and conspiring to deal in illegal sales of goods. 

The Northern District of California was one of 35 districts represented at the ceremony.  EOUSA provides oversight, general executive assistance, and direction to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country. For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.
 

Updated June 18, 2018