U.S. ATTORNEY STAFF RECOGNIZED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER
BOSTON - Attorney General Eric Holder will recognize 340 department employees for their distinguished public service today at the 59th Annual Attorney General Awards Ceremony. Forty-four other individuals outside of the Department are also being honored for their work. Held at DAR Constitution Hall, this annual ceremony recognizes both department employees and others for their dedication to carrying out the Department of Justice’s mission. This year, four employees from the District of Massachusetts will be award the distinguished Fraud Prevention award and two will be awarded the Distinguished Service Award.
“This year’s award recipients have made significant contributions across, and far beyond, the Department of Justice and helped to protect the rights, safety and best interests of the citizens we are privileged to serve,” Attorney General Holder said. “I am grateful for the dedication and passion that these extraordinary public servants bring to their work, and I am honored to count them as colleagues.”
“I am extremely proud of the extraordinary work done by members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “These awards recognize the very high level of commitment and professionalism of these individuals who all exemplify the responsibility and sacrifice of public service. I believe that there is no greater sense of fulfillment than to serve our nation, whether it be through government or volunteer work, and I want to thank each of the honorees for their unwavering commitment to justice and congratulate them on today’s awards.”
The Attorney General’s Award for Fraud Prevention recognizes exceptional dedication and effort to prevent, investigate and prosecute fraud, white-collar crimes and official corruption.
This year’s award is presented to the investigation and prosecution team which recovered more than $680 million on behalf of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The investigation determined that the pharmaceutical manufacturers Abbott Laboratories, Dey Inc. and Roxane Laboratories reported falsely inflated drug prices relied upon by the Medicare and Medicaid programs to determine reimbursements to pharmacies. This litigation resulted in large monetary recoveries to the government health care programs, and its findings contributed to Medicare reform that eventually was passed by Congress, making the program less vulnerable to this type of scheme in the future.
Award recipients from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts are Assistant U.S. Attorneys James J. Fauci, George B. Henderson, Barbara Healy Smith and Auditor Patrick Ormond. Recipients from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida; the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Commercial Litigation Branch Fraud Section; and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Fraud Section were also recognized.
The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service is the Justice Department’s second highest award for employee performance. The recipients of this award exemplify the highest commitment to the department’s mission.
Sixteen Distinguished Service Awards were presented this year to individuals or teams of people. Among the honorees is the team whose quick response and coordination led to the prosecution of Faisal Shahzad for his attempted bombing in Times Square, New York City, on May 1, 2010. The team was under tremendous pressure to act quickly, and within 72 hours, Shahzad was identified and apprehended as the perpetrator. Throughout the investigation, the team gathered significant intelligence helpful to the U.S. government’s identification of a foreign terrorist organization.
Award recipients from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts are Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke S. Chakravarty and Deputy Unit Chief William D. Weinreb from the Anti Terrorism and National Security Unit. Awardees also include members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; the FBI New York Field Office; the FBI’s New Haven, Conn., Field Office; FBI Headquarters Counter terrorism Division; the FBI Office of the General Counsel; the FBI, Islamabad, Pakistan; the New York Police Department; the Connecticut State Police; the Department of Justice’s National Security Division Counterterrorism Section; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Connecticut.
