As criticism continues for the three finalists to be the next U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, one of those critics is now facing sanctions, The Tampa Tribune reports.

The critic is former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Del Fuoco, who blames the loss of his job on Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill, who is one of the finalists for the U.S. Attorney job. O’Neill is now the head of the Middle District office’s criminal division and once served as interim U.S. Attorney in the district.

Del Fuoco says he’s a whistleblower intent on bringing to light rampant corruption by O’Neill, while O’Neill claims Del Fuoco is unhinged and bent on ruining O’Neill’s career, The Tampa Tribune reports. “It is apparent that Mr. Del Fuoco is fixated on me,” O’Neill said in documents.

As Del Fuoco continues his public attacks on O’Neill, U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore is considering sanctioning Del Fuoco.

The sanctions would be for misrepresenting the facts in court documents and for trying to “perpetuate the pattern of harassment” and “scandalous and impertinent accusations” in connection with Del Fuoco’s federal libel lawsuit against O’Neill, according to The Tampa Tribune.

Whittemore has ordered Del Fuoco to appear at a hearing this afternoon, which the former prosecutor intends to attend. Two judges already have determined that Del Fuoco has acted inappropriately.

Del Fuoco has sent letters and e-mails to both the White House and Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson’s office claiming that investigations by the U.S. Attorney’s office were compromised because of a extramarital relationship O’Neill had with an office employee. Some associates and friends say the affair was with an employee of a contractor who was neither hired nor directly supervised by O’Neill.

Del Fuoco has filed a lawsuit in which he claims O’Neill and other former superiors in the U.S. Attorney’s office of threatened beatings, lied under oath, used intimidation, protected their political friends and obstructed justice, according to The Tampa Tribune.

Del Fuoco has a history of run-ins with the law, including complaints and lawsuits against O’Neill and others, an outstanding arrest warrant for refusal to pay child support and accusations of attempted extortion.

In addition to O’Neill, the finalists for the job are Harry Shorstein, a partner at Jacksonville law firm Shorstein & Lasnetski who previously served as a Florida state attorney; and Roger Handberg, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Middle District’s Orlando office.

Shorstein has also come under personal attack, while the major criticism of Handberg is that he lacks experience and outside support, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Harry Shorstein (Shorstein & Lasnetski)

The three finalists to be the next U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida “are being attacked by old adversaries, an assault that has stymied selection efforts,” The St. Petersburg Times reports.

In July, a Florida screening committee submitted three finalists for Middle District U.S. Attorney to the state’s senators. Eight people were considered by the panel.

The three finalists are Harry Shorstein, a partner at Jacksonville law firm Shorstein & Lasnetski who previously served as a Florida state attorney; Robert O’Neill, head of the office’s criminal division who once served as interim U.S. Attorney in the district; and Roger Handberg, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the Middle District’s Orlando office.

Sen. Bill Nelson (gov)

Although it has not been made public which of the finalists were recommended by Sen. Bill Nelson (D) and then-Sen. Mel Martinez (R), concerns about the finalists have already been aired. Martinez resigned Sept. 9 to join the private sector. He was replaced by Sen. George LeMieux (R). President Obama has yet to nominate anyone for the post, due in part to the public bickering, according to the St. Petersburg newspaper.

In September, current Florida State Attorney Angela Corey tried to derail the candidacy of her former boss, Shorstein.  Three years ago, Shorstein fired Corey and later publicly opposed her bid for election to the state prosecuting job before Corey trounced Shorstein’s former chief of staff in the bitterly contested election. As part of her anti-Shorstein effort, Corey wrote to Nelson and Martinez asking them not to recommend her former boss to Obama.

Sen. Mel Martinez (gov)

Last month, state Circuit Judge Kim Hammond unsealed a court order of his that is critical of Shorstein. Hammond denounced  Shorstein in the 2008 order regarding the ex-prosecutor’s management of a still-sealed grand jury examination into state attorney John Tanner’s probe of the Flagler County, Fla., prison.

Now, former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney, who is now president of the University of North Florida, is attacking Shorstein, who he says lacks the personality, temperament and management skills to be U.S. Attorney, the newspaper reports.

Meanwhile, O’Neill has come under criticism from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Del Fuoco, according to The St. Petersburg Times. Del Fuoco, who blames the loss of his job on O’Neill, has sent letters and e-mails to both the White House and Nelson’s office claiming that investigations by the U.S. Attorney’s office were compromised because of a extramarital relationship O’Neill had with an office employee, the newspaper reports. The newspaper reported that some associates and friends say the affair was with an employee of a contractor who was neither hired nor directly supervised by O’Neill.

Sen. George LeMieux (gov)

Del Fuoco also has raised questions about O’Neill’s ownership interest in Four Green Fields, a Tampa bar that once raised money for Irish Republican Army political leader Gerry Adams, according to the newspaper. O’Neill has publicly acknowledged his ownership of the bar, but told the Times he did not organize or attend the event.

Del Fuoco has filed a federal lawsuit in which he accuses O’Neill of defamation in comments that were included in his application for U.S. Attorney, the newspaper reports.

Handberg has come under less fire than Shorstein and O’Neill, with the major criticism being his lack of experience and outside support, according to the Times.

Wifredo Ferrer (gov)

A former deputy chief of staff to Attorney General Janet Reno is expected to be nominated as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, The Miami Herald reports.

Wifredo Ferrer, who currently is an assistant Dade County, Fla., attorney, reportedly is undergoing a final FBI review before the nomination is made. If nominated and confirmed, Ferrer, who is the son of Cuban immigrants, would be the fourth lawyer of Cuban descent to be the U.S. Attorney in Miami, though only the first nominated by a Democratic president.

The last Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney in Miami, R. Alexander Acosta, became the dean of Miami’s Florida International University law school on July 1. Since then, veteran prosecutor Jeffrey Sloman has been running the office on an acting basis.

David Buckner (Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton)

Reno praised her former aide in an interview with the Herald.

“First of all, he understood better than anybody I’ve worked with how the federal government works with local and state governments,” Reno said, adding, “If I wanted to write the book about how to be the U.S. attorney, Willy would be one of my models.”

John Hogan, Reno’s former chief of staff, told the newspaper: “When you look at the power of the U.S. attorney and that office, it’s essential that someone with a good moral compass heads it.” Hogan told The Miami Herald he encouraged Ferrer early on to pursue the position.

Daryl Trawick (Gov)

Ferrer was one of three finalists for the office.  The others were  former Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Buckner of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton in Miami; and Daryl E. Trawick, a Dade County, Fla. Circuit Court judge who stirred controversy by keeping a non-public secret docket at the request of state prosecutors to shield a drug informant.

Attorney General Eric Holder today told the wealthy Florida community where Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme hit hard that financial fraud is among the “greatest and most glaring threats” to the U.S. economy.

Eric Holder (DOJ)

Palm Beach was “ground zero” for Madoff’s $65 billion scam,  Holder said in a speech at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach. The Madoff scheme is the biggest investor fraud in U.S. history.

“The simple truth is that financial crimes have become all too common,” Holder said in prepared remarks. “And the consequences of these schemes and scams are real, as this community knows all too well. ”

Late last year, President Barack Obama signed an executive order that created an interagency task force to fight financial crime. The Attorney General said the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force is the “cornerstone” of the Justice Department’s efforts to combat mortgage fraud, securities fraud, financial discrimination and Recovery Act and rescue fraud.

“To those who see victimization of others as an avenue to wealth, take notice: If you fabricate a financial statement, if you propagate an investment scheme, if you are complicit in an act of financial fraud, you are writing your ticket to jail,” Holder said.

The fiscal year 2010 DOJ budget signed into law last month includes funds for 43 positions in U.S. Attorney’s offices to help combat financial fraud. Congress set aside $7.5 million in the budget for U.S. Attorney’s offices to pursue bankruptcy, mortgage fraud, affirmative civil enforcement and other white collar crimes.

The U.S. Attorney’s offices received $2.4 million through the fiscal year 2009 omnibus budget to fight economic crimes, according to a DOJ spokesperson. Congress allocated an additional $10 million to the U.S. Attorney’s offices in the fiscal year 2009 supplemental budget to fight financial fraud, the spokesperson said. The supplemental funding does not expire until fiscal year 2011. DOJ was able to hire 76 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys to handle financial fraud cases with the fiscal year 2009 funds, according to the spokesperson.

The budget also includes money for 50 new FBI agents to fight mortgage fraud and work on economic recovery investigations. The FBI received almost $75.2 million from Congress to combat white collar crime, an increase of about $25.5 million.

“This budget represents the largest-ever, single-year enhancement to support and expand the Justice Department’s financial fraud programs,” Holder said. “This will allow for additional FBI agents, prosecutors and support staff to aggressively pursue mortgage fraud, corporate fraud and other economic crimes.”

This post was updated from an earlier version.

Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) met with a White House official earlier this month to discuss the U.S. Attorney recommendations for the Middle and Southern districts of Florida, the St. Petersburg Times’ Buzz blog reported yesterday.

George LeMieux (Gov)

LeMieux, who was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist (R) after Sen. Mel Martinez (R) resigned in September, had a meeting with White House Counsel Greg Craig on Nov. 9, according to the blog. The senator’s office declined to comment to the Buzz about the meeting.

People close to Crist, who will run for Senate next year, are expressing concerns about Jacksonville, Fla., lawyer Harry Shorstein, who, according to the blog, is a finalist for the Middle District of Florida job.

We reported in September that the State Attorney for the state’s 4th Judicial Circuit, Republican Angela Corey, wrote to Martinez and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) to ask them not to recommend Shorstein, who was her former boss at the office. Two years ago, Shorstein fired Corey and later spoke out against her bid for election to the state prosecuting job. But last year, Corey easily beat Shorstein’s former chief of staff in the bitterly contested election.

The current U.S. Attorney in the Middle District is Bush-administration holdover A. Brian Albritton.

Some of the finalists for the Southern District of Florida are also receiving additional scrutiny in Florida. We reported this week that Daryl E. Trawick, a judge in Dade County, once helped put phony court documents in the public docket at the request of state prosecutors, which could be a violation of state law. In addition, former Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Buckner, another finalist for the U.S. Attorney post, played a role in a controversial terrorism case.

Jeffrey H. Sloman is the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District.

Here are the finalists for the Middle and Southern district U.S. Attorney posts:

Middle District:

– Harry Shorstein, who is a partner at the Jacksonville law firm of Shorstein & Lasnetski where he works on white-collar crimes cases. He previously served as a Florida state attorney. He has also worked as a general counsel for Jacksonville and as a Naval judge advocate. Read his full bio here.

– Robert O’Neill, who was interim U.S. Attorney for the Middle District in 2008 and currently leads the office’s criminal division.

– Roger Handberg, who is an Assistant U.S. Attorney, in charge of the Middle District’s Orlando office.

Southern District:

– Wifredo Ferrer, who is an assistant Dade County, Fla., attorney.

– David M. Buckner, who is a partner at Miami’s Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton and a former Assistant U.S. Attorney.

— Daryl E. Trawick, who is a Dade County Circuit Court judge.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) on Friday appointed former Deputy Attorney General George LeMieux to the Senate to replace Sen. Mel Martinez (R), who is resigning mid-term. Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Roberto Martinez had been on Crist’s short list to replace the Martinez, who had already announced he wouldn’t run for re-election in 2010.

LeMieux is the chairman of the law firm of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart. He previously served as Cristi’s chief of staff.

Crist in May announced that he will run for the seat himself next year. So he needed a trusted place-holder who wouldn’t pose a threat to his 2010 run. CQ Politics reported that LeMieux will not run for a full term next year, leaving the seat open for his old boss.

The situation somewhat mirrors one in Delaware. Sen. Ted Kaufman (D), a longtime adviser to Joe Biden, was named to finish out Biden’s Senate term after the Delaware Democrat resigned to be vice president. Kaufman does not plan to run for a full term in 2010, leaving the seat open for Biden’s son, Beau, to run. Beau Biden, who is Delaware’s Attorney General, could have been appointed to succeed his father in the seat. But he was deployed to Iraq at the time as part of the Delaware National Guard.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida R. Alexander Acosta will become the dean of Miami’s Florida International University law school on July 1, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Alex Acosta

We previously reported that 14 of the 26 FIU law professors deemed Acosta “not acceptable” to be their new dean in a non-binding poll. The controversy stemmed from Acosta’s politics. He helped George W. Bush in the bitter 2000 Florida recount. Then in 2003, Bush nominated the Miami native to head the Civil Rights Division at Main Justice.

Acosta served as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights from August 2003 to June 2005, presiding over a period of intense turmoil. During his tenure, the division approved then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s (R-Texas) extraordinary mid-decade redistricting plan that ending up giving the Texas GOP five new House seats. (The DOJ said at the time that Acosta had recused himself from the Texas decision but didn’t explain why).

Also during Acosta’s tenure, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brad Schlozman carried out his reign of terror against career staff attorneys perceived to be liberal Democrats. Read the Justice Department Inspector General report on Schlozman’s improper partisan hiring decisisons here.

After Harvard Law School, Acosta clerked for Samuel A. Alito, Jr., now a Supreme Court Justice, on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He also worked in the Washington office of Kirland & Ellis.

The Southern District of Florida is one of the most prestigious U.S. Attorney offices in the nation, with one of its busiest workloads. As U.S. Attorney, Acosta focused on health care fraud (Miami, along with Los Angeles, launched a Medicare fraud “strike force”  in 2007. Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced May 20 the Obama administration is expanding those strike forces to Detroit and Houston). He also prosecuted accused al-Qaeda “dirty bomber” Jose Padilla and the Repubulican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

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