U.S. Department
of Justice
Leadership Team
Christopher J. Prezioso – First Assistant U.S. Attorney 
Christopher J. Prezioso serves as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia. Mr. Prezioso formerly served as the Civil Division Chief. Mr. Prezioso joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2018 and once served as the Civil Health Care Fraud Coordinator, which required him to actively manage civil health care related cases brought pursuant to the False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act. Mr. Prezioso is a lifelong resident of West Virginia and has practiced law throughout the state since he was admitted to the West Virginia State Bar in 2003. Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. Prezioso worked at Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP in the civil litigation practice group. Mr. Prezioso is a 2003 graduate of the West Virginia College of Law and a 2000 graduate of Fairmont State University.
Randolph J. Bernard – Counsel to the U.S. Attorney 
Randolph J. Bernard currently serves as Counsel to the U.S. Attorney. Mr. Bernard previously served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney and was Acting United States Attorney from January 2025 to October 2025 and February 2020 to October 2020. Bernard also performed the duties of Deputy Chief and Chief of the Criminal Division for the years 2010 to 2018. Mr. Bernard joined the office in 2002 and has prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases. He has prosecuted large-scale drug cases, violent crimes, firearms offenses, white-collar matters, fraud and tax cases, and prosecutions involving the exploitation of children including child pornography matters. Before becoming an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Bernard served as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Wheeling, West Virginia Resident Agency. Prior to the FBI, he was a litigator with the law firm of Coolidge, Wall, Womsley & Lombard located in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Bernard is a 1987 magna cum laude graduate of Ohio Northern University College of Law and a 1984 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Sybil D. Ott – Administrative Officer 
Sybil D. Ott is the Administrative Officer, serving as the Chief of the Administrative Division and as the primary advisor to the United States Attorney for planning and managing all office resources. Ms. Ott has been with the office since 2003, and prior to her appointment as Administrative Officer, she served as the Budget Officer and the Contracting Officer. Ms. Ott is a graduate of West Virginia University with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies and a Master's Degree in Interpersonal and Organization Communication. Jordan V. Palmer – Civil Division Chief 
Jordan V. Palmer serves as the Civil Division Chief in the Northern District of West Virginia. Mr. Palmer has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of West Virginia, joining the office in 2022. Mr. Palmer has acted as lead counsel in dozens of cases ranging from defensive Federal Tort Claims Act cases, Bivens cases, and defensive employment discrimination cases, along with qui tam lawsuits, civil immigration matters, Controlled Substance Act cases, and fraud cases. Mr. Palmer is a native of Wheeling, West Virginia, and has been practicing law for over a decade in state and federal court, always with a focus on civil litigation. He graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and holds bachelor’s degrees from West Virginia University in political science and philosophy. Stephen L. Vogrin – Criminal Division Chief 
Stephen L. Vogrin is the Criminal Division Chief in the Wheeling Office. Mr. Vogrin joined the office in 2012, and has experience prosecuting a wide range of criminal cases, including drugs and violent crimes, firearms, immigration, sexual assault, and child pornography cases. Mr. Vogrin has also served as the Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the office. Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. Vogrin was an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Ohio County, West Virginia for 12 years. Mr. Vogrin was the gun and violent crime prosecutor during his tenure at the Ohio County Prosecutors Office. Mr. Vogrin successfully prosecuted cases involving Murder, Robbery, Kidnapping, Sexual Assault, Burglary, Malicious Assault, Firearms Violations, Drug Violations, and Child Victim crimes. A graduate of Wheeling Park High School, Mr. Vogrin received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Bethany College and a Law Degree from West Virginia University. Jarod J. Douglas - Deputy Criminal Chief, Wheeling 
Jarod J. Douglas serves as the Deputy Criminal Chief in the Wheeling office in the Northern District of West Virginia. Mr. Douglas has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of West Virginia since 2012, where he has prosecuted crimes involving national security, civil rights, public corruption, and financial fraud. He was also the lead prosecutor in the case of Reta Mays, who admitted in July 2020 to murdering multiple patients at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The Mays case garnered Douglas multiple national recognitions, including an U.S. Attorney General Award, the second highest honor given within the Department of Justice. In addition, he serves the U.S. Attorney’s Office in several administrative capacities, including as Senior Litigation Counsel, Criminal Discovery Coordinator, and National Security/Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council Coordinator. Prior to serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, he served as a law clerk for two U.S. District Judges in the Northern District of West Virginia. He earned undergraduate and law degrees from West Virginia University, where he was a four-year member of the WVU Football Team, including the 2006 Sugar Bowl champion team. Lara Omps-Botteicher - Deputy Criminal Chief, Martinsburg 
Lara Omps-Botteicher currently serves as the Deputy Criminal Chief in the Martinsburg office in the Northern District of West Virginia. Ms. Omps-Botteicher has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of West Virginia since 2016. Ms. Omps-Botteicher has prosecuted white collar crimes, drug and violent crimes, Title III wiretap investigations, RICO offenses, and firearm offenses. She is the liaison to two drug task forces in the Northern District of West Virginia and has received awards and recognition from the local community and the Organized Crimes Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) for her prosecution of transnational drug trafficking organizations. Ms. Omps-Botteicher earned a bachelor’s degree in English and history with a minor in political science in 2008 from West Virginia University, graduating summa cum laude. She graduated Order of the Coif in 2012 from West Virginia University. She was also the senior managing editor of the West Virginia University Law Review, Volume 114. She has served as a federal law clerk for the Honorable Gina M. Groh, as an Assistant Attorney General for the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office, and a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia. She previously served as a Senior Litigation Counsel for the office. Zelda E. Wesley - Deputy Criminal Chief, Clarksburg and Elkins 
Zelda E. Wesley serves as the Deputy Criminal Chief in the Clarksburg and Elkins offices in the Northern District of West Virginia. Ms. Wesley has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of West Virginia since 1995. Ms. Wesley primarily has prosecuted narcotics and firearms cases in the district. She graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Masters in Public Administration. Ms. Wesley received her law degree from the WVU College of Law. Andrew R. Cogar - Senior Litigation Counsel
Andrew R. Cogar serves as Senior Litigation Counsel district-wide. Since joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2007, Mr. Cogar has prosecuted white collar crimes, drug and violent crimes, firearm offenses, and public corruption. He also co-founded and co-chairs the West Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force. A proud native of Gassaway, Mr. Cogar earned degrees in communication studies and mathematics from West Virginia University, graduating summa cum laude. While at WVU, Mr. Cogar also had the honor of serving as the Mountaineer mascot for two years. He then studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Glamorgan in Wales as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Mr. Cogar subsequently graduated with highest honors from the WVU College of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the West Virginia Law Review. Before becoming an AUSA, he completed a clerkship with United States District Court Judge Irene M. Keeley and worked as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
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