New Asst. U.S. Attorneys To Focus on Violent Crime, Civil Issues

CONCORD, N.H. - As part of a boost to the Dept. of Justice across the country, New Hampshire will be receive two new Assistant U.S. Attorneys, one to focus on violent crime, and the other to concentrate on civil enforcement of federal laws.

The Dept. of Justice on Monday announced the new additions as part of a push to increase resources to combat violent crime and help roll back the devastating opioid crisis in New Hampshire.

U.S. Attorney in New Hampshire Scott Murray welcomed the announcement, saying the additional prosecutor is critical to the department's ability to combat crimes of violence that endanger citizens, especially those involving firearms.

"The new civil enforcement attorney will allow us to directly confront one of the factors contributing to the crisis," Murray said in a statement. "Specifically, we will take aggressive action against practitioners who prescribe or distribute controlled substances in an illegal, irresponsible manner. We will also step up our efforts to pursue civil remedies against health care providers who defraud Medicare and other federal benefit programs.”

“Under President Trump's strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis—and today we are sending in reinforcements,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is 'the coin of the realm.' When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership. This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades.”

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