Aug. 6, 2010

BARRY R. GRISSOM CONFIRMED AS U.S. ATTORNEY

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Barry R. Grissom has been confirmed by the United States Senate as the next United States Attorney for the District of Kansas. He will be sworn in later this month.

Grissom, 56, of Overland Park, Kan., was nominated April 28, 2010, by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate today. He succeeds Acting U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch, who took over in 2008 when
U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren became a federal judge.

“I am honored to be appointed by President Obama to serve as United States Attorney,” Grissom said. “I am looking forward to working with the dedicated professionals in the U.S. Attorney’s office and our partners in law enforcement to serve the citizens of Kansas.”

Grissom graduated from the University of Kansas in 1977 and the Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1981.

Grissom will lead an office of 49 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 53 support staff working in offices in Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City, Kan. His law enforcement priorities will include national security, violent crime, drug trafficking, financial fraud and crimes against children, he said.