List of Honorees

By Andrew Ramonas | October 22, 2021 11:43 am

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Attorney General Eric Holder bestowed honors on almost 300 people today during the 57th Annual Attorney General Awards Ceremony at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington. Here’s the rundown from the Justice Department on the awards:

-Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service

Award description: The Justice Department’s highest award.

Recipients: From the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Jeffrey S. Blumberg, special litigation counsel; Joshua D. Mahan, trial attorney; from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Douglas McKinley Miller, Assistant U.S. Attorney; and from the FBI Los Angeles division, special agent Philip J. Carson.

Honorees’ background: The team’s investigation and prosecution ended a three-year crime spree, headed by former Los Angeles Police Department officer Ruben Palomares. The six-year investigation and prosecution that broke this conspiracy resulted in 15 individuals pleading guilty and the conviction at trial of two others. Through their tireless dedication, teamwork, creativity and legal skill, they helped restore a sense of justice to victims and communities who had been preyed upon by the very people who had sworn to serve and protect them.

-Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism

Award description: Recognizes an extraordinary act of courage and voluntary risk of life during the performance of official duties.

Recipient: Anthony J. Layfield, senior officer specialist of the Bureau of Prisons U.S. penitentiary in Atlanta.

Honoree’s background: On June 2, 2008, a fellow officer was violently attacked by a highly aggressive inmate. As a result of Layfield’s quick, decisive actions, and his continued attentiveness and dedication to duty, the life of a staff member was saved. This heroic act spared a family the loss of a husband and a father.

-Edward H. Levi Award for Outstanding Professionalism and Exemplary Integrity

Award description: Pays tribute to the memory and achievements of former Attorney General Edward H. Levi, whose career as an attorney, law professor and dean, and public servant exemplified these qualities in the best traditions of the department.

Recipient: Edwin S. Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General

Honoree’s background: Kneedler played an indispensable role in complex and time-consuming intra-governmental deliberations on diverse matters of great sensitivity and importance, including the handling of congressional subpoenas of former presidential advisors and presidential records, the proper treatment of Guantanamo detainees, the release of Office of Legal Counsel opinions, and the appropriate role and uses of presidential signing statements.

-Mary C. Lawton Lifetime Service Award

Award Description: Recognizes employees who have served at least 20 years in the department and have demonstrated high standards of excellence and dedication throughout their careers.

Recipient: William J. Edwards, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Honoree’s background: Edwards is recognized for his outstanding legal expertise, managerial and supervisory skills, and his active leadership role as the interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. For more than 40 years, Edwards has fostered strong relationships throughout his federal career with the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and other heads of federal, local and state agencies in support of the law enforcement efforts of this District. Edwards is an exceptional individual and role model who epitomizes professionalism and dedication as an outstanding federal employee.

-William French Smith Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cooperative Law Enforcement

Award Description: Granted to recognize state and local law enforcement officials who have made significant contributions to cooperative law enforcement endeavors.

Recipients: Detective Deborah K. Scates of the Hartford, Conn., Police Department and sergeant Christopher McKee of the Windsor, Conn., Police Department.

Honorees’ background: They investigated and prosecuted United States v. Paris, et al., a high-profile sex trafficking case that resulted in the conviction of 10 individuals and the rescue of multiple women and juvenile girls that the individuals exploited.

-Attorney General’s Award for Meritorious Public Service

Award description: The top public service award granted by the department, and is designed to recognize the most significant contributions of citizens and organizations that have assisted the Department of Justice in the accomplishment of its mission and objectives.

Recipients: From the federal correctional institution in Miami, Fla., Selma DeJesus, chief psychologist; Sherri Skibinski, drug abuse program coordinator; Nestor Chavez, supervisor of education; Lori Bearden, case manager; Giovanni Gras, teacher; Mark Jones, correctional counselor; and Paola Londono, unit secretary.

Honorees’ background: They developed the Inmate Change and Alternative Network. ICAN is part of a re-entry program that focuses on networking with Federal, State, and local agencies to create a partnership and/or referral network that provides services to equip inmates for release.

-Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service

Award Description: The Justice Department’s second highest award for employee performance.

Recipients: National criminal enforcement section of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division including Mark R. Rosman, assistant chief; and trial attorneys Brent C. Snyder, Kathryn M. Hellings, Mark C. Grundvig and Elizabeth A. Aloi.

Honorees’ background: Through the team’s leadership, dedication, and exceptional investigative and litigation efforts, multiple worldwide conspiracies to fix and raise prices, rates and fees for airline passenger travel and for airline cargo shipments of goods were broken up, and competition was restored to a globally vital industry.

Other recipients: For wildlife and marine resources section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Seth M. Barsky, assistant section chief; Kristen L. Gustafson and S. Jay Govindan, senior trial attorneys; Kevin W. McArdle and Michael R. Eitel, trial attorneys; from the natural resources section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Charles W. Findlay III, assistant section chief; Charles R. Shockey, Luther L. Hajek and Guillermo A. Montero, trial attorneys; from the appellate section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Andrew C. Mergen, assistant section chief; Allen M. Brabender, Michael T. Gray and Charles R. Scott, trial attorneys; from the Office of the Solicitor General, Edwin S. Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General and Anthony A. Yang, assistant to the Solicitor General.

Honorees’ background: They defended the Navy’s ability to conduct mission critical training using active SONAR prior to deployment to hot spots around the world, while at the same time working with the Navy to ensure compliance with the nation’s environmental laws.

Other recipients: Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Lynch from the Western District of Washington.

Honoree’s background: For 14 years, he successfully defended the United States as a civil Assistant U.S. Attorney handling numerous, complex medical malpractice actions for the Western District of Washington. From 2005-2006, he served at the Regime Crimes Liaison Office in Baghdad, where he assisted Iraqi attorneys prosecuting crimes by the regime of Saddam Hussein. In January 2008, Mr. Lynch once again agreed to leave family and home to serve a one-year term as the Rule of Law Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which made him the most senior Department of Justice official in Iraq.

Other recipients: Larry W. Krisl, special agent, Denver field division, and Christopher J. Trainor, special agent, Baltimore field division, both from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Honorees’ background: They were assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, from October 2007 to September 2008. They were involved in day-to-day embassy law enforcement operations and the initiation and oversight of several high-profile investigations. Despite great personal risk they performed their duties to ensure the safety and security of others.

Other recipients: Senior officers Andrew Cruickshank and Jose Gonzalez from the federal correctional complex, Lompoc, Calif.

Honorees’ background: Cruickshank and Gonzalez performed CPR on an inmate for more than 15 minutes while waiting for paramedics to arrive. Their efforts saved an individual’s life and inspired other staff to become certified in CPR.

Other recipients: From the Civil Rights Division include Eric L. Gibson, trial attorney; Daniel K. Rosenholtz, former paralegal specialist; individuals from the FBI include, Arch G. Gothard IV, special agent in the Kansas City Division; Heith R. Janke, special agent in the San Antonio Division; members from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Missouri include, Assistant U.S. Attorneys D. Michael Green and David M. Ketchmark; and financial analyst Elsie Robinson.

Honorees background: In United States v. Eye and Sandstrom, the team obtained convictions against two violent, racially motivated offenders. Due to this team’s hard work and excellent litigation skills, two killers were brought to justice and an entire community’s civil rights were vindicated.

Other recipients: From the Criminal Division include assistant deputy chief and assistant to the chief for the child exploitation and obscenity section Steven J. Grocki and James M. Fottrell; from the FBI’s innocent images unit investigative operations analyst Linda S. Ellerby; investigative support specialists Julie Ann Harper and Maria E. Jackson; industrial security specialist Crystal J. Tennessee; information technology specialist Robert J. Williams and supervisory special agent Mark E. Zimmerman; from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, postal inspectors Clayton E. Gerber and J. Todd Bame; from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement senior special agent Theodore Siggins.

Honorees’ background: The team is responsible for “Operation Joint Hammer,” a transnational enforcement operation, which led to the identification and prosecution of scores of dangerous child sex offenders throughout the world.

Other recipients: From the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Phoenix field division, group supervisor Mark J. Benek and special agents Stephanie J. Barta, Joshua F. Cluff, Karl W. Hedrick, Daniel Mehdi, Brandon Moore, Daniel E. Moritz and Robert L. Wardle; and from the Phoenix Police Department task force officer Danny Valadez.

Honorees’ background: The Phoenix Strike Force Group 1 receives this award for their outstanding Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigations aimed at dismantling a significant drug trafficking and money laundering organization. Because of the team’s talent, dedication, and hard work, the Verdugo-Calderon Organization suffered significant damage, including the loss of its primary leadership and significant disruption to its drug trafficking activities that reached from Mexico and throughout the United States.

Other recipients: From the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Cheryl O’Connor Murphy, Curtis A. Kin, Anthony J. Lewis, and Sarah J. Heidel, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and paralegal specialist Rochelle Wong; from the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division’s criminal section, special litigation counsel Andrew J. Kline, Trial Attorney Cyra O’Daniel, and paralegal specialist Connie Lee; from the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, special agents Tricia Whitehill and Valerie Venegas; from U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE, special agent Miguel Palomino; and from the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor, special agent Jesus Quezada Jr.

Honorees’ background: The team successfully investigated and prosecuted the Vasquez-Valenzuela family, which committed acts of forced prostitution by young women and minors they smuggled into the country from Guatemala.

Other recipients: From the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, Peter B. Axelrod, Patricia J. Kenney, Stephanie Hinds and Hartley M.K. West, Assistant U.S. Attorneys; Jonathan R. Howden and Martha A. Boersch, former Assistant U.S. Attorneys; Christine Y. Tian, paralegal specialist; from the Criminal Division’s organized crime and racketeering section, Hallie A. Mitchell, former trial attorney; Amelia Lucero-Cordes, paralegal specialist; from the FBI Moscow office, Bryan Earl, legal attaché; from the U.S. Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, San Francisco district office, supervisory special agent Bennett Hong; and Charles A. Tonna, Internal Revenue agent.

Honorees’ background: The team prosecuted United States v. Pavel Lazarenk, which was the first prosecution of a foreign political leader for laundering the proceeds of foreign crimes involving political corruption, fraud and extortion through financial institutions in the United States.

Other recipients: From the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia A. Donahue, John J. Lulejian and Elizabeth R. Yang; from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE, special agents Gary J. Phillips, Eddy Wang and Paul Carbone; and foreign service national Vansak Sous.

Honorees’ background: They worked on the prosecution of Michael Joseph Pepe, a U.S. citizen who traveled to Cambodia to purchase young girls from their parents. As a result of the prosecution team’s commitment, dedication and exemplary efforts, a Los Angeles jury convicted Pepe of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.

Other recipients: Frank H. Anderson III, special assistant to the chief information officer in the Justice Management Division’s Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Honoree’s background: His oversight and direction have guided the complex and successful efforts of the Office of the Chief Information Officer while simultaneously providing services across the department components and to their executive officers.

Other recipients: From the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, counterterrorism section Sharon Lever, deputy chief; Joanna Baltes, trial attorney; from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, David E. Risley, Assistant U.S. Attorney; Jaci L. Carrell, paralegal specialist; from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Marla Tusk, Assistant U.S. Attorney; from the FBI Aman, Jordan office, Timothy P. Kirkham, legal attaché; from the FBI Springfield, Ill., division, John H. Stafford, assistant special agent in charge; Matthew J. Iskrzycki, supervisory special agent; Scott B. Easton, special agent; Thomas Michael Shanahan, Mary Kay Eades and Rebecca L. Miller, intelligence analysts; from the FBI counterterrorism division, Jacqueline Maguire, supervisory special agent, and Hillary Brie Sommer, intelligence analyst.; and from the FBI critical incident response group Nicholas Zambeck, special agent.

Honorees’ background: This team received the award for their relentless and innovative efforts in the investigation and prosecution of Ali Saleh Kaleh Al-Marri. The trial team unraveled an international conspiracy and successfully completed one of the most high-profile terrorism cases in the department’s history.

Other recipients: From the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General oversight and review division, Carol F. Ochoa, assistant inspector general for oversight and review; Nina S. Pelletier and Mark S. Masling, investigative counsels; Joseph Symcak, senior special agent; Judy A. Sutrich, senior program analyst; Jason R. Higley, special agent; Dominic N. Russoli, paralegal specialist; from DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General evaluations and inspections division, Gina J. Wong, senior program analyst; Cheron D. Cooper and Katherine A. Zownir, program analysts; Cynthia A. Schnedar, counselor to the Inspector General, William M. Blier, senior counsel to the Inspector General; from the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility, William J. Birney, James D. Duncan and Tamara Jaycox Kessler, associate counsels; Raymond C. Hurley, senior assistant counsel; Margaret S. McCarty, assistant counsel; from the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, asset forfeiture and money laundering section, deputy chief of policy, James A. Meade.

Honorees’ background: They produced four reports of investigation relating to allegations of politicized hiring within the Department of Justice, which resulted in the removal of nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006.

Other recipients: Glenn E. Belgard, deputy U.S. Marshal of the U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force.

Honoree’s background: Belgard receives the award for his outstanding leadership and investigative skill in coordinating a U.S. Marshals Service led fugitive task force in central Louisiana. Belgard has been recognized by community leaders, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for arrests of some of the nation’s most dangerous felons.

Other recipients: Phyllis J. Pyles, director of the Civil Division torts branch

Honoree’s background: Pyles receives the award for her tenacious and intelligent defense of the United States for more than three decades in tort litigation. She has had a critical role in the development of laws protecting the United States from lawsuits.

Other recipients: John D. Griffith, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; from the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, fraud section, Mark F. Mendelsohn, deputy chief; Lori A. Weinstein, trial attorney; Pamela Johnson, paralegal specialist; from the FBI Washington field office, Brian J. Smith and Paula L. Ebersole, special agents; and Troy Burrus and Howard Smith, from U.S. Department of Treasury, IRS.

Honorees’ background: They received the award for their outstanding performance in the investigation and prosecution of Siemens AG, a German engineering company. The department’s investigation uncovered evidence of hundreds of millions of dollars of corrupt payments in dozens of countries spanning several decades, and in virtually every Siemens operating group and region.

-Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement

Award description: Recognizes outstanding professional achievements by law enforcement officers of the Department of Justice.

Recipients: From the Southeast regional fugitive task force, chief inspector Keith Booker; from the Pacific Southwest regional fugitive task force, chief inspector Thomas Hession; from the New York/New Jersey regional fugitive task force, chief inspector Lenny DePaul; from the Gulf Coast regional fugitive task force, chief inspector Michael Richards; from the capital area regional fugitive task force, chief inspector Rob Fernandez; and from the Great Lakes regional fugitive task force, chief inspector Geoff Shank.

Honorees’ background: The team is honored for their outstanding efforts and exceptional service in the reduction of violent crime and gang activity, and the apprehension of more than 33,000 fugitive felons, more than 1,200 of whom were wanted for murder, during the past fiscal year.

Other recipient: John “Mickey” Welch, special agent, ATF Nashville field division.

Honoree’s background: Welch prosecuted the violent street gang MS-13 in Nashville, Tenn.

Other recipients: Special agents Richard Bachour, Christopher Goumenis and Sharon Lindskoog, from the DEA Miami field division; group supervisor Brian McKnight; from the DEA Bogota Country office group supervisor John Gazzara; and special agent Adam Allen.

Honorees’ background: They participated in Operation Titan, a multi-jurisdictional consolidated and regional priority organization Target DEA investigation of drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Coordinated efforts under the auspices of the Operation Titan team have resulted in the arrest of more than 107 domestic and international targets, seizure of more than $40 million, more than $2 million in other related assets (to include three aircraft), 26 international bank accounts, more than 3,700 kilograms of cocaine and 10 kilograms of heroin.

Other recipients: From the FBI Salt Lake division, special agents Michael J. Gnecknow and Gail L. Gnecknow; supervisory special agent Donald E. Robinson, Jr.; investigative operations analyst Dorothy A. Broyles; evidence technician Esther Tamez; financial analyst Michele E. Lewis; from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wendy Olson and Traci Whelan; paralegal specialist Denise Price; automated litigation support specialist Pamela J. Rocca; and victims witness specialist Kristi Johnson.

Honorees’ background: This team receives the award for their exemplary efforts during a three-year long investigation of a brutal triple homicide and the abduction of two children in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in May 2005. As a result of their efforts, a violent serial sexual predator was arrested, and one of the abducted children was recovered.

-Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Management

Award description: Recognizes outstanding administrative or managerial achievements that have significantly improved operations and productivity, or reduced costs.

Recipient: Paul J. Copenhaver, warden at the federal correctional institution in Dublin, Calif.

Honoree’s background: He is directly responsible for the planning and oversight of security enhancements and procedures at the FCI in Dublin. Through constant oversight, he engineered a 32 percent reduction in overtime expenditures.

Other recipients: From the FBI’s operational technology division, Jesse H. Taylor, senior cryptologic mathematician; Vivian K. Clifton, electronics engineer; Paul S. Driscoll, supervisory information technology specialist; An Q. Nguyen and Chad Richard Loewenstine, mathematicians.

Honorees’ background: The grid computing initiative implementation team received the award for their creative insight and dedication in the implementation of a virtual supercomputer across the FBI trilogy network.

Other recipients: Maggie K. Hansen, supervisory librarian, Robert F. Kennedy Building main library, in the department’s Justice Management Division.

Honorees’ background: Hansen is recognized for assisting litigation efforts by all department components through her legislative history research, Hansen foresaw the importance of developing a historical archive of departmental documents, speeches, and memorabilia by and about the department. This collection has been instrumental in providing necessary primary sources to Department of Justice components.

-Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Information Technology

Award description: Recognizes outstanding achievements in applying information technology to improve operations and productivity reduce or avoid costs and solve problems.

Recipient: James Mark Fleshman, chief information officer for the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.

Honoree’s background: For the past decade, he has served as a highly effective change agent and as a member of the management team, has planned and implemented creative approaches resulting in improved U.S. Attorneys Offices’ operational effectiveness and efficiency at reduced costs.

Other recipients: From the FBI’s criminal investigation division crimes against children unit, Jamie L. Konstas, intelligence analyst; from the FBI’s Washington field office, Heather L. Gordon, intelligence analyst; and from the FBI information technology operations division, office of the chief technology officer, Christopher N. Carrino, computer scientist.

Honorees’ background: The team developed and deployed the Innocence Lost Database to assist local, state and federal law enforcement officers working child prostitution matters.

-Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security

Award description: Recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions towards protecting U.S. national security.

Recipients: From the FBI, New York City division, Zachary J. Miller, assistant special agent in charge; John F. Karst Jr. and Elisabete Santos, supervisory special agents; Lionel A. DeSilva, James E. Dennehy, Stephen Fullington, William G. Smith, John J. Hartnett, Robert Kravec, Sara Poole, Michael R. Bickings, Robert B. Booth, Carol A. Motyka, Peter G. Diaz and Daniel S. Kim, special agents.

Honorees’ background: This group is recognized for their exemplary, tireless performance in connection with a multi-faceted, long-term investigation, which utilized numerous resources and sophisticated techniques. These agents displayed exceptional leadership, managerial and investigative skills throughout this complex investigation. The extraordinary efforts resulted in the production of vital intelligence that enabled policy makers to further shape U.S. foreign policy and protect U.S. national security interests.

-Attorney General’s Award for Equal Employment Opportunity

Award description: The department’s highest award for performance in support of the Equal Employment Opportunity program.

Recipient: Suzanne L. Bell, deputy director for legal recruitment and outreach, office of attorney recruitment and management.

Honoree’s background: Bell is honored for her superior management of the department’s legal hiring programs. In addition to her exemplary accomplishments in recruitment and outreach, she has been instrumental in creating and implementing several new training initiatives, and offering critical support for new attorneys and current supervisors.

-Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Legal Support

Award Description: Recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of legal support to attorneys by paralegal specialists and other legal assistants.

Recipients: From the Environment and Natural Resources Division, environmental crimes section, supervisory paralegal specialist William N. Taylor; from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, paralegal specialist Marti P. Goldring. Also, from the Environment and Natural Resources Division, natural resources section, Diana “Deedee” Sparks; and from the Executive Office of U.S. Trustees – Dallas, Texas, legal clerk Christi C. Flanagan.

-Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Administrative Support

Award Description: Recognizes outstanding performance in administrative or managerial support by an administrative employee or secretary.

Recipients: Misti L. Kloubec, administrative officer budget analyst, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa; and Peggy C. Taylor, administrative officer, Region 7, U.S. Trustees Program and Rosa F. Rach, administrative assistant, Drug Enforcement Administration operations division.

-Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Service in Freedom of Information Act Administration

Award Description: Recognizes exceptional dedication and effort to the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act.

Recipient: William Edward Bordley, U.S. Marshals Service associate general counsel

Honoree’s background: By implementing new initiatives such as the FOIA/Privacy Act Web site and electronic reading room, Bordley greatly enhanced accessibility of information to U.S Marshals Service employees and the public.

-Attorney General’s Award for Fraud Prevention

Award Description: Recognizes exceptional dedication and effort to prevent, investigate and prosecute fraud, white-collar crimes and official corruption.

Recipients: From the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Catherine L. Votaw, Joseph A. Trautwein, Denise S. Wolf, Marilyn May, Alvin Stout, Nancy Rue, and Margaret Hutchinson, Assistant U.S. Attorneys; Denis Cooke and Alison Barnes, auditors; from the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, consumer litigation branch, Jeffrey Steger and Ross Goldstein, trial attorneys; Regina Hosey, paralegal; from the Civil Division, frauds section, Patricia R. Davis, assistant director; Patricia Hanower, trial attorney.

Honorees’ background: The team responsible prosecuted the largest pharmaceutical fraud case in the history of the Department of Justice.

Other recipients: From the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, George S. Cardona, Acting U.S. Attorney: Richard E. Robinson, and Douglas A. Axel and George S. Cardona, Assistant U.S. Attorneys; from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, James Harbin, Catherine Budig and Loretta Cummings, postal inspectors; Daniel Ryan and Humberto DaFonte, consumer fraud analysts; and from the U.S. Department of Treasury, IRS, criminal investigation division, special agent Gary Tang.

Honorees’ background: The team is recognized for their demonstrated excellence and perseverance in the successful investigation and prosecutions of Milberg Weiss and its senior partners.

-Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Community Public Safety

Award description: Recognizes outstanding achievement in the development and support of community partnerships designed to address public safety within a community.

Recipients: From the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, John A. Wortmann Jr. and Glenn A. MacKinlay, Assistant U.S. Attorneys; Martha Wyatt, program specialist; from ATF, Thomas F. Crowley, special agent; from Harvard University, senior research associate Kennedy School of Government, Anthony Braga; from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Daniel Mulhern, assistant district attorney; executive director, Boston Ten Point Coalition, Reverend Jeffrey L. Brown; from the Boston Police Department, sergeant detective John Ford and deputy superintendent Gary French; executive director, Stop Handgun Violence, Laura Hyer; director, Boston Re-entry Initiative, True-See Allah; and re-entry manager, Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, Christian J. Mitchell.

Honorees’ background: This diverse group’s efforts serve as a model for community partnering. Faced with an alarming increase in gang-related violent crime that threatened the viability of several Boston neighborhoods, the team launched a collaborative two-year effort aimed at improving the quality of life for area residents.

-Cubby Dorsey Award for Outstanding Contributions by a Wage Grade System Employee

Recipient: Scott Taylor, HVAC Foreman, U.S. penitentiary, Lee, Va.

Honoree’s background: Taylor completes his assignments with a high level of energy and displays the “team player” attitude necessary in a correctional environment. Taylor is a highly motivated and dedicated individual to the mechanical services discipline and the Bureau of Prisons.

-Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee

Award description: Recognizes exceptional performance and notable accomplishments towards the department’s mission by an employee with fewer than five years of federal career service.

Recipients: Kenneth Moore, senior correctional officer, federal correctional complex, Coleman, Fla.; Aaron J. Mango, Assistant U.S. Attorney, white collar and general crimes division, Western District of New York; Catherine Anne Chess Chen, general attorney, Office of the FBI General Counsel; Trisha B. Anderson, attorney adviser in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel; Zana M. Scarlett, trial attorney, Miami office, Executive Office for U.S. Trustees.

-John Marshall Award for Trial of Litigation

Award Description: John Marshall Awards are the Department of Justice’s highest awards offered to attorneys.

Recipients: From the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, narcotic and dangerous drug section, deputy section chief Julius Rothstein and trial attorney Matthew R. Stiglitz; and deputy chief for policy and appeals, Teresa Wallbaum.

Honorees’ background: The team is recognized for exceptional service to the department and nation for their relentless efforts in the investigation and conviction of Taliban cell leader Khan Mohammed.

Other recipients: From the Department of Justice’s Tax Division, civil trial section, Southern region assistant chief Angelo A. Frattarelli; from the Northern region, trial attorneys Robert Kovacev, Matthew Von Schuch and Karen Smith.

Honorees’ background: The team litigated AWG Leasing Trust v. United States, the first case to go to trial involving the abusive sale in/lease out tax shelter.

Award: John Marshall Award for Participation in Litigation