UNITED STATES ATTORNEY RAY GRUENDER ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION; ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT NAMES JAMES MARTIN TO BE INTERIM

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Raymond W. Gruender announced his resignation as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, effective at midnight on June 4, 2004. President Bush nominated Gruender to a judgeship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and the Senate confirmed the nomination on May 20, 2003. Gruender is expected to be sworn in as a circuit judge in the near future.

“Ray has done an outstanding job as a United States Attorney,” said Attorney General Ashcroft. “On behalf of the entire Justice family, I congratulate him on his confirmation as a federal circuit judge.”

Attorney General Ashcroft has named James Martin to be the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. Martin, who received his B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Notre Dame in 1980 and his Juris Doctorate in 1983 from the University of Michigan Law School, currently serves as Executive Assistant to the U.S. Attorney. He joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in October 1984, after working in private practice since May 1983.

“Jim has been a dedicated federal prosecutor for nearly 20 years,” said Attorney General Ashcroft. “As interim U.S. Attorney, his experience in prosecuting drug cases, firearms violations, and white collar crime will serve the people of the Eastern District of Missouri well.”

The nation’s 93 United States Attorneys are responsible for the prosecution of federal crimes including firearms, narcotics, money laundering, pornography and fraud; the defense of civil cases brought against the United States; and the collection of debts owed to the United States and restitution owed by criminals to their victims.

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