A former interim U.S. Attorney in Detroit will leave the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Macon, Ga., this week after serving there as the No. 2 official for several months, the former leader of the office told Main Justice Wednesday.
Terrence G. Berg (USDOJ)
Former acting U.S. Attorney G.F. “Pete” Peterman of the Middle District of Georgia said Terrence Berg, a veteran prosecutor from the Eastern District of Michigan, was the First Assistant U.S. Attorney from May until this month. Peterman, who was acting U.S. Attorney from summer 2009 until this month, said the office is celebrating the prosecutor’s last day Wednesday.
Berg will return to Detroit as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the complex crimes unit next week, Eastern District of Michigan First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Gorland told Main Justice. Berg served his first stint in the Eastern District of Michigan U.S. Attorney’s office from 1989 to 1999. He later returned to the office in 2003, becoming the First Assistant U.S. Attorney there in 2005. He served as the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from 2008 until January 2010.
The Justice Department kept Berg’s stint in Macon quiet. His name was not in the online staff directory for the U.S. Attorney’s office and does not appear in court documents or websites associated with the Middle District of Georgia.
Peterman said Berg came to the Macon U.S. Attorney’s office because they were “shorthanded in our management staff.” He declined further comment on the matter. A DOJ spokeswoman in Washington also declined comment.
The Middle District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s office has come under fire over the last few years for its work on several major cases.
- In August 2008, lawyers representing defendants in a public corruption case accused Middle District of Georgia prosecutors of “outrageous government misconduct” for allegedly devising a scheme to create criminal charges against another defendant in the case, the Daily Report reported.
- In January 2009, lawyers for a Defense Department contractor alleged prosecutors from the office made false assertions and disingenuous statements in a case in which the government alleged the company knowingly sold faulty non-lethal grenades that malfunctioned, The Telegraph in Macon reported.
- In December 2009, a federal judge in Georgia blasted the office for the “sweetheart plea deals” it made with drug dealers in its “relentless” efforts to pursue a defense lawyer who was acquitted of attempted bribery, drug conspiracy and money laundering charges, the Fulton County Daily Report reported.
Peterman, who is now listed as the Middle District of Georgia First Assistant U.S. Attorney, started at the office in 1990. He became the office’s Criminal Division Chief in 1996 and First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the first time in 1998. He also served two previous stints as acting U.S. Attorney in 2000 and 2001.
The office is now led by U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore, who was sworn in Oct. 6. President Barack Obama nominated Moore in September 2009 to lead the office, but his nomination languished in the Senate for about a year.
[...] Former Interim Detroit U.S. Attorney Finishes Up Stint in Ga. (Main Justice) Print This Post [...]
[...] Former Interim Detroit U.S. Attorney Finishes Up Stint in Ga. (Main Justice) [...]
[...] in a Managerial or Supervisory Role for his efforts in the Middle District of Georgia. Berg spent several months this year as a First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the office, helping boost productivity and morale [...]
[...] appear in court documents or websites associated with the Macon-based office. Main Justice was the first to report that Berg worked in the Middle District of [...]