News


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AG
THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1996                            (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

             TERRORISM PROSECUTORS, OKLAHOMA AGENTS
             RECEIVE TOP JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The World Trade Center bombing
prosecution team and law enforcement officers who helped
coordinate rescue and search efforts after the terrorist bombing
in Oklahoma City, received the Justice Department's highest
awards today.
     Eighty-two Department employees and 11 other individuals
were honored at the 44th Annual Attorney General's Awards
Ceremony held at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
     Attorney General Janet Reno presented Exceptional Service
Awards to Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) Andrew C. McCarthy,
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Robert S. Khuzami and Alexandra Rebay, and
Paralegal Specialists Jane Chu and Joseph E. Doherty of the
Southern District of New York for their successful investigation
and prosecution of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and 10 of his
followers for their terrorist activities in the New York
metropolitan area.  
     DEA Senior Special Agent David Schickendanz and Regina
Bonny, a DEA Task Force officer and corporal in the Midwest City
Police Department, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, also received
Exceptional Service Awards for their leadership and gallant
efforts on the morning of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
federal building in Oklahoma City.  Schickendanz's courage and
leadership saved his own life, the life of a fellow DEA agent and
other federal employees when, disregarding his own injuries, he
took control and coordinated rescue and search efforts for
remaining DEA personnel.  
     Bonnie was propelled by the bomb blast into a cement wall
and roof line.  After regaining consciousness, she tunneled out
of the rubble and, without regard to her own physical injuries,
located two severely injured Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (BATF) employees, administered first aid and carried the
two down nine flights of stairs to rescue and medical attention.
     "It is an honor to be able to bestow these awards on such
deserving public citizens," Reno said.  "The recipients of these
awards have risked their lives and put their reputations on the
line to ensure the safety and well being of our nation."
     Reno presented the Attorney General's award for Exceptional
Heroism to Border Patrol Agent Juanita Santana for her
extraordinary display of courage, stamina, and willingness to go
above and beyond the call of duty after being shot and seriously
wounded on June 29, 1995, after stopping a vehicle in which three
suspects were transporting cocaine.  Santana was shot four times
without warning when she approached the stopped vehicle. 
Remaining calm and composed, she continued to pursue the three
armed suspects until they were stopped and an undocumented alien
and two gunmen arrested.  
     Michael J. Roper was awarded The Mary C. Lawton Lifetime
Service Award for his distinguished and dedicated 22-year career
with the Department.  Since his appointment as Controller in
1987, the Department's budget has grown by more than 250 percent
--from 3.9 To 13.7 billion dollars--the largest increase of any
cabinet agency.  Roper has guided the Department's budget through
years of dramatic increases which resulted from priority
programs, congressional actions, and administration initiatives
and he was the Department's key expert on the funding aspects of
the 1995 crime bill.
     The William French Smith award for Outstanding Contribution
to Cooperative Law Enforcement, created to commemorate former
Attorney General Smith, provides recognition to individuals who
have served on coordinating committees, and have made outstanding
contributions to their operations and effectiveness.  
     This year's award was presented to Juan Arvizu and Karl G.
Auerbach for their outstanding efforts in enhancing the
cooperative efforts of tribal, state and local law enforcement in
combatting the illegal activities of street gangs in Indian
country and the Salt River, Arizona, community.  Their continuing
endeavors to educate law enforcement and the public about gang
activity, contributed greatly to the investigation of street
gangs within the district of Arizona and nationwide.  
                   DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS
     Thirty-six individuals received The Attorney General's
Distinguished Service Award, the second highest form of
recognition bestowed by the Department.  They include:
     Linda J. McKay, Block Grant Program Manager in the Office of
Justice Programs of the Bureau of Justice Assistance -- for her
dedicated service in developing the bureau's multi-million dollar
state criminal alien assistance program; assisting states with
requirements to conduct HIV testing for sex offenders; and
implementing the criminal history records improvement program
which has resulted in improved information sharing of state
criminal history records.  

     Robert K. Bratt, Executive Officer of the Criminal Division
-- for his innovative and dynamic leadership in making
significant technological and management advances to improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of the Criminal Division.  

     David M. Cohen, Director of the Civil Division's Commercial
Litigation Branch -- for his many years of extraordinary
achievement in shaping the structure of the courts in which he
practices; and building a significant body of law and legal
precedent that safeguards the government from unfair claims and
illegal trade practices by aggressively defending government
contract decisions, and pursuing customs fraud violations.

     K. Jack Haugrud, Assistant Chief; Margo Miller, Allison
Rumsey, and Caroline Zander, Trial Attorneys; and Thomas
Alderson, Paralegal Specialist, of the General Litigation
Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division -- for their
leadership role, cooperative efforts, sound judgment, and
tireless dedication in deftly handling the multitude of legal
issues posed by numerous county supremacy cases, including United
States v. Nye county, Nevada and the State of Nevada.  These
cases involved issues related to the enactment of local
ordinances by western counties purporting to limit the federal
government's control over federal public lands.  Haugrud's hands-
on involvement in each of these actions, and the talents and hard
work of his team, were the primary forces behind avoiding
violence and reopening communications between federal agencies
and the counties.  

     Ronald E. Sanders, Chief Border Patrol Agent of the Tucson,
Arizona, sector of INS -- for his leadership and management
skills in successfully achieving a balance of service and
enforcement within the Tucson sector by creating a cultural
awareness training class in the post academy training program,
developing a coordinated approach to crime prevention through his
work with local law enforcement groups, and redesigning
procedures for returning aliens that decreased congestion in the
border cities.  Under his leadership, complaints of abuse against
the Border Patrol have decreased, crime has declined, arrest and
drug seizures have increased, and tourism thrives.  

     Grover Hartt, III, Assistant Chief of the Civil Trial
Section in the Tax division -- for his exceptional service in
representing the government's interests in the case In Re I.C.H.
Corporation, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case resulting in the
collection of over 71 million dollars just 80 days after the case
was filed, by coordinating the efforts of several IRS components. 


     Gloria Solano, Program Specialist in the Miami field office
of the Community Relations Service, for her leadership, hard
work, persistence, and dedication during Operation Sea Signal. 
This program was a joint National Security Council and
Departments Defense, State, and Justice operation, in which more
than 45,000 Cuban and Haitian rafters and boat people paroled and
resettled into the U.S. between 1994 and 1996.  Salano's efforts
with other federal, local, and voluntary agencies created an
orderly process for resettling more than 550 Cubans and Haitians
per week.  

     Anthony J. Antenucci, Operations Research Analyst, DEA;
Philip D. Armold, Correctional Program Specialist, Federal Bureau
of Prisons (BOP) Victor Fuentes, Computer Specialist, INS; Donald
M. Johnson, Unit Chief, Program Development Section, FBI; Julie
A. Jones, Assistant Director, Information Management Security
Staff, Justice Management Division; Charles V. Sangaline,
Supervisory Computer Specialist, U.S. Marshals Service (USMS);
and A. Ralph Zurita, Assistant Chief Deputy, Southern District of
Florida, USMS, a group of seven computer, research, and
information management specialists, for their leadership and
creative efforts in developing the Department of Justice Joint
Automated Booking Station, also known as JABS.  This project is a
Justice Performance Review demonstration laboratory designed to
change the federal prisoner processing system by eliminating
redundant booking systems, sharing information between agencies,
and reducing the processing time for submission of fingerprints
and photographs to the FBI's criminal identification center
through electronic imaging and file transfer technology.  

     Peter M. Carlson, Assistant Director for the Correctional
Programs Division of BOP for consistent, outstanding performance
and leadership in directing the Bureau's response to, and
successful resolution of 10 major institution disturbances and
other scattered incidents occurring in 1995 and coordinating the
largest emergency response drill, working in concert with
numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  

     Daniel Molerio, Assistant Director for Investigations;
Dianne Weisheit, Section Chief; Kyle Hutchins and Bartolome
Rodriquez, Supervisory Criminal Investigators; Mona Forman and
Karen Pace, Criminal Investigators of the Anti-Suggling unit, New
York District Office, Mark D. Riordan, Supervisory Special Agent,
Office of International Affairs, Bangkok district, all of the
INS; and Philemina McNeill Jones, Assistant Director of the Civil
Division's Office of Immigration Litigation -- for their
leadership, perseverance, investigative, and litigative skills in
the Golden Venture case.   INS law enforcement officers located
and coordinated the arrest of the major principal organizer, and
12 crew members, of the motor vessel Golden Venture.  The Golden
Venture was an alien smuggling operation charged with conspiracy
to smuggle more than 290 undocumented aliens from the People's
republic of China into the U.S.  The intentional grounding of the
Golden Venture on the shores of Long Island in 1993 caused the
unfortunate drowning of 10 chinese nationals.  Jones defended the
complex litigation resulting from the arrival of the alien
smuggling vessel, which touched upon sensitive issues of
immigration enforcement, and required the exercise of great
litigative skills and diligent attention to detail in securing a
favorable outcome for the government.  
     Paul E. Pelletier and Madeleine Shirley, AUSAS from the
Southern District of Florida -- for their diligent efforts and
patience in the criminal prosecution of members of Julio Nasser's
North Coast drug conspiracy.  This prosecution resulted in the
conviction of over 50 co-conspirators for their involvement in
importing in excess of three million pounds of marijuana and 25
kilograms of cocaine into the U.S.; and the criminal forfeiture
of more than 150 million dollars in narcotics proceeds held in
secret Swiss bank accounts.  

     Patricia A. Riley, AUSA, District of Columbia -- for her
accomplishments as the chief of the Sexual Offense section; her
leadership in the reform of the sexual assault statutes in the
District of Columbia; and for her work on behalf of adult and
child victims of sexual assault, through the establishment of the
District of Columbia Children's Advocacy Center.

     Thomas Perez, Deputy Chief of the Civil Rights Division's
Criminal Section -- for his sustained excellent performance over
many years in prosecuting some of the most complex cases handled
by the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.  In a
recent case, United states v. Mungia, et al., he successfully
prosecuted one of the most egregious and violent violations of
federal civil rights law.  Three racists, loosely affiliated with
a skinhead group, conspired to instigate a race war in Lubbock,
Texas, by randomly targeting African Americans for murder.  This
case represents one of the most serious episodes of racial
violence in recent history, and culminated with quick convictions
against all defendants on all counts.  

     James H. Deatley, Senior Litigation Counsel of the U.S.
Attorney's office, Western District of Texas -- for his
exceptional leadership of the Western District of Texas while
serving as U.S. Attorney under the appointment of the Attorney
General, and later as the court-appointed U.S. Attorney from May
of 1993 to March of 1996.  Deatley's participative management
style was key to the district's many successful initiatives,
including responsiveness to the Department's southwest border
initiative, implementation of quality of workplace programs,
shifting resources to meet border needs, establishing a Weed and
Seed program that is deeply involved in the community, and
noteworthy growth in both the quality and quantity of cases
handled.

     Reid M. Figel, Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud
Unit, and AUSAS Andrea Likwornik Weiss, Michael A. Simons, and
Richard D. Owens, Southern District of New York -- for their
outstanding service in connection with the prosecution of United
States v. The Daiwa Bank, Ltd., an unauthorized, off-the-books
trading scheme involving billions of dollars of U.S. Treasury
obligations and future contracts for those securities that
resulted in a $1.1 Billion loss, which Daiwa's management and an
outside trader unlawfully conspired to conceal from U.S.
regulators for more than two months.  Daiwa bank pleaded guilty
to 16 felony counts and paid a criminal fine of 340 million
dollars, the largest criminal fine in history.  

     "Every employee and individual honored today has played a
pivotal role in the fulfillment of the Department's mission and
objectives -- to preserve and defend the safety and well being of
the American people," Reno noted.  "I regret that space
limitations prevent our listing all the many inspiring stories
which have led us to the awards presentation today."  
     Other award categories and recipients include:
                 EXCELLENCE IN MANAGEMENT AWARD
                      Edward F. Cincinnati
             Assistant Director for Administration
               Executive Office for U.S. Trustees
                                
              EXCELLENCE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AWARD
                         James G. Brown
               Special Agent, Gallup Field Office
                Federal Bureau of Investigation
                      Thomas F. Carruthers
                      Deputy U.S. Marshal
                      District of Columbia
                     U.S. Marshals Service
                                
                        John J. Liquori
                      Christopher T. Voss
                         Special Agents
                       New York Division
                Federal Bureau of Investigation
                                
   ATTORNEY GENERAL'S AWARD FOR EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
                         Gary N. Silver
                            Director
                      Office of Personnel
                   Office of Justice Programs
                                
        ATTORNEY GENERAL'S AWARD FOR CAREER ENHANCEMENT
                     Kenneth L. Pasquarell
                    Deputy District Director
                         El Paso Sector
              Immigration & Naturalization Service
                                
            ATTORNEY GENERAL'S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING
    SERVICE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DISABLED EMPLOYEES
                         John F. Clark
               Supervisory Criminal Investigator
                      Enforcement Division
                     U.S. Marshals Service
                                
    ATTORNEY GENERAL'S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LEGAL SUPPORT
                       PARALEGAL CATEGORY
                         Linda M. Troup
                      Paralegal Specialist
                        Criminal Section
                     Civil Rights Division
                                
                    LEGAL SECRETARY CATEGORY
                         Bette Bratlien
                        Legal Technician
                  Office of the U.S. Attorney
                Northern District of California
                                
                         Mary Jane Wood
                        Legal Assistant
                Court of Federal Claims Section
                          Tax Division
                                
           ATTORNEY GENERAL'S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN
                     ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
                          John Caraway
                Personnel Management Specialist
                     Federal Medical Center
                       Fort Worth, Texas
                       Bureau of Prisons
                                
                      SECRETARIAL CATEGORY
                       Suzanne A. Frazier
                           Secretary
                Office of the Inspector General
                                
                                
                      JOHN MARSHALL AWARDS
                                
        INTERAGENCY COOPERATION IN SUPPORT OF LITIGATION
                     Chris Michael Couillou
                         Paul K. Davis
                       Andrea L. Foseter
                       Ronald E. Laitsch
                        Cindy A. Liebves
                           Attorneys
                    Federal Trade Commission
                        Atlanta, Georgia
                                
                       Elizabeth M. Grant
                        Larry E. Hodapp
                      Richard A. Quaresima
                           Attorneys
                Division of Marketing Practices
                    Federal Trade Commission
                        Washington, D.C.
      
                       TRIAL OF LITIGATION
                         Steven P. Ward
                     Senior Trial Attorney
                  Criminal Enforcement Section
                         Western Region
                          Tax Division
                                
                         Sandra Teters
              Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney
                        Thomas Carlucci
                    Assistant U.S. Attorney
                Northern District of California
                                
                      Michael J. Connolly
                    Assistant U.S. Attorney
                   District of New Hampshire
                                
                  PARTICIPATION IN LITIGATION
                       Lawrence G. McDade
                        Deputy Director
                      Deborah S. Smolover
                         Trial Attorney
                 Office of Consumer Litigation
                         Civil Division
                                
                        Anthony G. Hall
                        Monte J. Stiles
                    Assistant U.S. Attorneys
                       District of Idaho
                                
                     SUPPORT OF LITIGATION
                        Timothy Roberts
                        Attorney Advisor
                       U.S. Penitentiary
                      Leavenworth, Kansas
                       Bureau of Prisons
                                
                        Bruce S. Gelber
                     Principal Deputy Chief
                Environment Enforcement Section
           Environment and Natural Resources Division
    
                      HANDLING OF APPEALS
                       Robert J. Erickson
                     Principal Deputy Chief
                       Appellate Section
                       Criminal Division
                                
                      Miriam Aroni Krinsky
                    Assistant U.S. Attorney
                 Central District of California
                                
                     PROVIDING LEGAL ADVICE
                         Janis Sposato
        Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Law & Policy
                          Mary Braden
                            Director
                         Janice Rodgers
                        Deputy Director
                          Donna O'Dowd
                       Ethics Specialist
                    Department Ethics Office
                  Justice Management Division
                                
                     Charysse L. Alexander
                    Assistant U.S. Attorney
                Middle District of Alabama, and
                 Senior Counsel to the Director
              Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
                                
             PREPARATION OR HANDLING OF LEGISLATION
                       Donald J. Russell
                             Chief
                 Telecommunications Task Force
                       Antitrust Division
                                
                        ASSET FORFEITURE
                      Reid Charles Pixler
                    Assistant U.S. Attorney
                      District of Arizona
                                
                 ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
                        Janice E. Hebert
                    Assistant U.S. Attorney
                 Western District of Louisiana
                                
          THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING
      SERVICE IN FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ADMINISTRATION
                         Leo D. Neshkes
                 Freedom of Information Officer
                       Antitrust Division
                                
         THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CUBBY DORSEY AWARD FOR 
  OUTSTANDING SERVICE BY A FEDERAL WAGE GRADE SYSTEM EMPLOYEE
                         David Donchess
William Shinn
Aircraft Mechanical Inspectors
Del Rio Sector
Del Rio, Texas
Immigration & Naturalization Service


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