FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AG TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1997 (202) 616-2777 TDD (202) 514-1888 CAMPAIGN FINANCE TASK FORCE TO EXPAND WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh today brought in additional personnel to augment the task force investigating allegations of campaign finance violations in the 1996 election. Charles G. La Bella, the First Assistant United States Attorney in San Diego, will join the task force as the chief prosecutor. La Bella, a career prosecutor, served as Chief of the Criminal Division in San Diego from 1993 to 1996, and prior to that was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York for 11 years. He has prosecuted many white collar and corruption cases, including most recently the prosecution of three Superior Court judges and a prominent attorney in California on charges of corruption. James V. DeSarno, Jr., Deputy Assistant Director of Operations for the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division, will join the task force as the Special Agent in Charge of the task force investigation. DeSarno, who has been in the FBI for more than 20 years, served previously as the Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Division of the FBI, and as a section chief in the Information Resource Division where he was responsible for automation support of field office investigations and major cases. In addition, the FBI and the Department of Justice will be assigning additional prosecutors, investigators and analysts to the task force. The task force will continue to be supervised by Lee Radek, Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division, and Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark M. Richard. Additionally, La Bella and DeSarno will meet regularly with the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General and the FBI Director, and brief them about the progress of the investigation. These significant additions to the task force reflect the Attorney General's commitment to ensure that it has all of the resources necessary to thoroughly pursue every lead. # # # 97-390