The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia has announced the creation of two leadership positions within his Alexandria, Va.,-based office, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported today.
Neil MacBride (DOJ)
U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride promoted Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle to be the office’s public integrity coordinator and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Connolly to be the deputy chief of the Alexandria division’s fraud unit.
Lytle prosecuted former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who was convicted last year of taking bribes. MacBride said he created the public integrity coordinator position as part of an effort to better handle cases involving corruption by government officials, according to the newspaper. The number of corruption cases filed in the Eastern District of Virginia rose from from 11 in 2005 to 21 in 2009, according to the Times-Dispatch.
“The Eastern District of Virginia must play an integral role in ensuring that those who hold public office live up to the public’s trust,” MacBride said in a statement to the newspaper.
Connolly, who has served as a federal prosecutor since 2002, was promoted to help expand the office’s efforts to prosecute economic crimes, according to The Associated Press. MacBride is also in the process of hiring three additional Assistant U.S. Attorneys to handle financial crimes including mortgage and securities fraud, the Times-Dispatch said.
