The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida appropriately took his ceremonial oath of office on a cold Thursday in Tampa, The Tampa Tribune reported.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Bentley recounted to hundreds of friends, family members, colleagues and dignitaries gathered at the U.S. District courthouse in Tampa that U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill told him that “it’ll be a cold day in hell when I’m named U.S. Attorney.”

While an U.S. Attorney candidate, O’Neill faced criticism from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Del Fuoco, who accused him of defamation and compromising investigations. O’Neill, who has spent 17 years in the Middle District, became a finalist for U.S. Attorney in July 2009 and then waited almost a year for President Barack Obama to nominate him.

“Whether the denizens of the underworld are having a respite from the heat or not, up here we can celebrate,” Bentley said, according to the newspaper.

O’Neill, a was officially sworn in on Oct. 5 during his lunch break. The Senate confirmed him on Sept. 29 to replace A. Brian Albritton, who had served as U.S. Attorney since 2008.

The new U.S. Attorney said he will direct his office to bring justice, not just prevail in court.

“We have to provide equal justice under the law for everyone,” O’Neill said, according to the Tribune. “That’s the key. That’s what we will strive to do.”

But justice wasn’t all that he planned to hand out. O’Neill said he would provide some libations at an Irish pub he co-owns to thank those who showed up for his ceremonial investiture.

“I do know, for many of you, free beer was quite a big incentive,” the U.S. Attorney said, according to the newspaper.

The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida will return to private practice after stepping down in the coming weeks, a future colleague told Main Justice.

A. Brian Albritton, who has been U.S. Attorney since 2008, will join Phelps Dunbar LLP in Tampa as a partner handling commercial litigation and white-collar criminal matters, said John Phillips, a partner at the firm. He will likely start his new job in early November.

The Senate confirmed Robert E. O’Neill as Albritton’s replacement on Wednesday. Albritton is one of eight U.S. Attorneys who were appointed by President George W. Bush and are still on the job.

This article has been updated since it was first posted.

The Senate confirmed six U.S. Attorneys by voice vote late Wednesday night.

They are:

-- Joseph Hogsett (Southern District of Indiana): President Barack Obama nominated the partner at the law firm of Bingham McHale LLP in Indianapolis and former chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party on July 14 to succeed Susan W. Brooks, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney in 2007. Read more about him here.

- Michael J. Moore (Middle District of Georgia): Obama tapped the lawyer in Warner Robins, Ga., on Sept. 17, 2009, to succeed Frank Maxwell Wood, who resigned as U.S. Attorney in July 2009. Read more about him here and here.

- Robert E. O’Neill (Middle District of Florida): The Assistant U.S. Attorney in Middle District of Florida will replace A. Brian Albritton, who became U.S. Attorney in October 2008. Obama tapped him on June 9. Read more about O’Neill here.

- William C. Killian (Eastern District of Tennessee): The sole practitioner at William C. Killian, Attorney at Law PC will succeed James R. Dedrick, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney last summer. Obama nominated him on May 20. Read more about Killian here.

- Mark Green (Eastern District of Oklahoma): The sole practitioner and alternate city judge for Muskogee, Okla., will replace Sheldon J. Sperling, who has been U.S. Attorney since 2001. Obama nominated Green on July 14. Read more about him here.

- Michael C. Ormsby (Eastern District of Washington): The partner at the law firm of K&L Gates LLP in Spokane, Wash., will replace James A. McDevitt, who became U.S. Attorney in 2001. Obama nominated Ormsby on March 2. Read more about him here.

The Senate has now confirmed 72 U.S. Attorneys. There are five U.S. Attorney nominees, who are still waiting for consideration by the full Senate. Among those would-be U.S. Attorneys is William Conner Eldridge Jr., the Western District of Arkansas nominee, who was tapped Wednesday.

There are 93 U.S. Attorney posts located throughout the nation.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved two more U.S. Attorney nominees by voice vote at its meeting Thursday.

They are:

- William C. Killian (Eastern District of Tennessee): The sole practitioner at William C. Killian, Attorney at Law PC would succeed James R. Dedrick, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney in the summer. President Barack Obama nominated him on May 20. Read more about Killian here.

- Robert E. O’Neill (Middle District of Florida): The Assistant U.S. Attorney in Middle District of Florida would replace A. Brian Albritton, who became U.S. Attorney in October 2008. Obama tapped him on June 9. Read more about O’Neill here.

The committee has now approved 70 of Obama’s U.S. Attorney nominees, 66 of whom have won Senate confirmation. The panel has yet to schedule votes for another six would-be U.S. Attorneys. There are 93 U.S. Attorney posts.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider two more U.S. Attorney nominees at its meeting Thursday.

They are:

- William C. Killian (Eastern District of Tennessee): The sole practitioner at William C. Killian, Attorney at Law PC would succeed James R. Dedrick, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney in the summer. President Barack Obama nominated him on May 20. Read more about Killian here.

- Robert E. O’Neill (Middle District of Florida): The Assistant U.S. Attorney in Middle District of Florida would replace A. Brian Albritton, who became U.S. Attorney in October 2008. Obama tapped him on June 9. Read more about O’Neill here.

The panel has yet to schedule votes for another six would-be U.S. Attorneys.  The committee has approved 68 of Obama’s U.S. Attorney nominees, 66 of whom have won Senate confirmation. There are 93 U.S. Attorney posts.

The humble background of Middle District of Florida U.S. Attorney nominee Robert O’Neill played a major role in shaping his career as a prosecutor, The St. Petersburg Times reported Sunday.

O’Neill, who was nominated earlier this month to lead the Tampa-based office, was born to European immigrants with limited formal education. His father, a janitor, and mother, a maid, met in a New York service elevator.

The U.S. Attorney nominee wrote in his U.S. Attorney application obtained by the newspaper that he had a “close to idyllic” childhood in the Bronx, N.Y., through the hard work of his mother and father.

Although he tended to spend more time outside playing ball and hanging out with his friends, O’Neill was able to obtain admission to Regis High School, a private Roman Catholic college preparatory school for men. He went on to get his bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and his law degree from New York University School of Law using part-time jobs and scholarships to pay for college.

O’Neill started his career at the Manhattan district attorney’s office, where he worked with Cyrus Vance Jr., who became Manhattan’s district attorney in January.

Vance and O’Neill worked on murder and drug cases at the office, often meeting for drinks after work was done. (O’Neill is now an owner of an Irish pub, Four Green Fields, in Tampa, Fla.)

“He was one of the shining stars in our class and just someone that everyone liked and respected,” Vance told The St. Petersburg Times.

But O’Neil has his detractors.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Del Fuoco, who was fired by O’Neill, has alleged the U.S. Attorney nominee smeared his reputation. Also, lawyer James P. Scanlan sent a letter to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying the U.S. Attorney nominee shouldn’t be confirmed since a judge criticized O’Neill’s handling of a case 17 years ago, according to the newspaper.

O’Neill, who has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Tampa since 1993, would replace George W. Bush holdover A. Brian Albritton, who has served as a U.S. Attorney since October 2008.

Robert E. O’Neill (Fordham University, New York University School of Law) is nominated to be the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. He would replace Bush appointee A. Brian Albritton who has served as a U.S. Attorney since October 2008.

His vitals:

• Born in the Bronx in 1957.
• Has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the district since 1993. From 1999 to 2001, served as chief of the special prosecutions section and public corruption section. Concurrently served as anti-terrorism coordinator since 2001 and chief of the criminal division from 2002 to 2007. Also served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2001 to 2002 and in 2007, and was interim U.S. Attorney from 2007 to 2008.
• Worked at Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., as Deputy Chief in Charge of Litigation in the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section in the Criminal Division from 1998 to 1999.
• Was Associate Independent Counsel in the now-defunct Office of the U.S. Independent Counsel in the Washington, D.C., metro area from 1992 to 1993 and in 1997.
• Worked as a trial attorney at Kramer, Dillof, Tessel, Duffy & Moore (now Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore) in New York, N.Y., from 1990 to 1992.
• Was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida from 1986 to 1990.
• Served as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney’s office from 1982 to 1986.
• Has tried approximately 75 cases to verdict, serving as sole counsel in approximately 70 cases, lead counsel in four cases, and associate counsel one case.

Click here for his full Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

UPDATE: On his Senate Judiciary financial disclosure O’Neill reported assets valued at $3.5 million, mostly from real estate and his personal interest in Dublin Pubs, Inc., and $545,400 in liabilities, mostly from a mortgage, for a net worth of $3 million.

On his Office of Government Ethics financial disclosure O’Neill reported his income from Dublin Pubs, Inc., (his 39 percent interest in a restaurant) as $76,690 in 2009 and the first few months of 2010. His salary from St. Petersburg College was $6,282 and his instructor’s compensation from Undercover Cop Training LLC police training was $1,774.

A former federal prosecutor in Florida has refiled a lawsuit against the likely nominee for U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, accusing him of violating federal laws by releasing confidential information in an effort to get himself appointed U.S. attorney.

Last month, Jeffrey Del Fuoco’s defamation lawsuit against Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill was thrown out of court, and a judge scolded him for making scandalous accusations. The latest lawsuit also names Attorney General Eric Holder, The St. Petersburg Times reported Saturday.

Del Fuoco, who blames the loss of his job on O’Neill, sent letters and e-mails to the White House and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) claiming that investigations were compromised because of a extramarital relationship that O’Neill allegedly had with another staffer in the U.S. Attorney’s office.

O’Neill, the head of the Middle District office’s criminal division and Del Fuoco’s former boss, is reportedly the frontrunner for the U.S. Attorney nomination and is said to be undergoing a background investigation. Other finalists who were submitted by a Florida screening committee included Jacksonville, Fla., lawyer Harry Shorstein and another Assistant U.S. Attorney, Robert Handberg.

According to Del Fuoco, the chairman of the selection panel distributed Justice Department documents to other committee members, including a letter that states the reasons Del Fuoco departed the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Del Fuoco claimed that many of the allegations are not true and said they are damaging to his reputation. O’Neill has previously accused Del Fuoco of filing lawsuits repeatedly in an attempt to smear his reputation.

A prosecutor in the Middle District of Florida is close to becoming President Obama’s nominee to lead the Tampa-based U.S. Attorney’s Office, St. Petersburg Times’ The Buzz blog reported today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill is undergoing a background investigation to be the next Middle District of Florida U.S. Attorney, according to the blog. He was the interim U.S. Attorney for the Middle District in 2008 and currently leads the office’s criminal division.

O’Neil was one of three finalists who were recommended to Obama by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and then-Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) The two other candidates were Middle District of Florida Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg and former Florida state attorney Harry Shorstein.

Detractors of O’Neill and Shorstein have lobbed harsh criticism at the two candidates since they were recommended last year.

For example, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Del Fuoco sent letters and e-mails to the White House and Nelson claiming that U.S. Attorney office investigations were compromised because of a extramarital relationship that O’Neill allegedly had with an office staffer. Del Fuoco, who blames the loss of his job on O’Neill, was sanctioned for misrepresenting the facts in a suit he filed against his former boss.

Jacksonville-based state attorney Angela Corey wrote to the Florida senators in September asking them not to recommend her former boss, Shorstein, for U.S. Attorney. Three years ago, Shorstein fired Corey and later publicly opposed her bid for election to state attorney post.

Then late last year, state circuit Judge Kim Hammond unsealed a 2008 court order that was critical of Shorstein. In the order, Hammond denounced  Shorstein for the ex-prosecutor’s management of a still-sealed grand jury examination into state attorney John Tanner’s investigation of the Flagler County, Fla., prison.

Shorstein was told last week that he was no longer in consideration for the U.S. Attorney post, according to The Buzz.

”I was sad and frankly a little bothered by how long this took and the way it happened,’’ Tampa lawyer Bill McBride, who was on the state’s U.S. Attorney selection panel, told the blog.

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.