United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen Announces New Management Team

United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen Announces New Management Team

Roanoke, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced today changes to his management team within the Western District of Virginia. The changes take effect immediately.

“With this experienced leadership team in place, we will be well-positioned to implement the Attorney General’s priorities, including expanding our Project Safe Neighborhoods initiatives and reducing violent crime,” United States Attorney Cullen said today.  “Specifically, we are all committed to working with our federal, state, and local partners to identify those responsible for committing significant violent crimes within our communities and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law.” 

Rick A. Mountcastle will serve as the First Assistant United States Attorney. Mr. Mountcastle previously served as the United States Attorney for the 15-month time period between presidentially appointed U.S. Attorneys. Prior to that, Mr. Mountcastle served as the First Assistant United States Attorney and the Chief of the Civil Division. He began his service with the Department of Justice in 1986 as a Trial Attorney with the Criminal Section of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division before coming to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia in 1995. Mr. Mountcastle has been the recipient of numerous Department of Justice awards, including the Attorney General’s Award for the Trial of Litigation and the Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team. As the First Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Mountcastle will oversee the criminal, civil, and administrative divisions of the office.

Laura Day Rottenborn will serve as the Executive Assistant United States Attorney, a newly created position in the district. Ms. Rottenborn has been a federal prosecutor in the Western District of Virginia since 2012.  She previously served as the Managing Assistant United States Attorney for the Roanoke Division where she supervised all of the Roanoke Division’s criminal prosecutors and support staff.  Prior to becoming a federal prosecutor, Ms. Rottenborn was a litigator at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, where she practiced in the Financial and Securities Litigation group.  Ms. Rottenborn is a graduate of Bucknell University and Stanford Law School.  After law school, she was a law clerk to the Honorable Mary M. Schroeder, Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  In her new role as EAUSA, Ms. Rottenborn will serve as Chief of the Civil Division and Chief of the Appellate Division, direct law-enforcement and community initiatives, and oversee public affairs. 

Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee will serve as the Chief of the Criminal Division. Mr. Lee has been a federal prosecutor in the Western District of Virginia since 2007. Prior to his work as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Lee was an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Bristol, Virginia. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and the University of Wyoming College of Law. Following law school, he was a law clerk to the Honorable James P. Jones, United States District Judge, Western District of Virginia. In his role as Criminal Chief, Mr. Lee will supervise all activities of the criminal division in Roanoke and all branch offices. 

Assistant United States Attorney Heather L. Carlton will serve as the Deputy Criminal Chief for the Western District of Virginia. In this role, Ms. Carlton will oversee the district’s implementation and execution of the Department of Justice’s nationwide anti-gun and gang-violence program, known as Project Safe Neighborhoods, as well as all violent crime and narcotics prosecutions. Ms. Carlton has been a federal prosecutor in the Western District of Virginia since 2014. Prior to joining the district, Ms. Carlton worked as an AUSA in the most violent area of the District of Columbia from 2008 to 2012, before spending a few years in private practice at McGuire Woods LLP. In her collective 8 years of experience as a federal prosecutor, Ms. Carlton has prosecuted a wide variety of crimes, including homicides, racketeering, human trafficking, and white-collar fraud.  Ms. Carlton is a graduate of both the University of Virginia and University of Virginia School of Law.

Jennie L. M. Waering will continue to serve as the Senior Litigation Counsel. Ms. Waering has worked as a federal prosecutor in the Western District of Virginia beginning in 1983. During her tenure, she has prosecuted a wide variety of cases including fraud, environmental crimes, healthcare fraud and opiate distribution. For the last several years, Ms. Waering has served as the Heath Care Fraud Coordinator. In her role as Senior Litigation Counsel, Mrs. Waering will oversee the district’s training, discovery, and mentoring programs. 

Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer R. Bockhorst will serve as the Counsel to United States Attorney. Ms. Bockhorst, a graduate of Stanford Law School, has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Virginia since 2002. She previously served as the First Assistant United States Attorney, the Counsel to the United States Attorney, as well as the district’s Ethics Advisor, Professional Responsibility Officer and Giglio Officer. In her role as Counsel to the United States Attorney, Ms. Bockhorst ensures the Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia complies with all ethical guidelines as set forth by Department of Justice policy.

United States Attorney Cullen also reappointed three experienced Assistant United States Attorneys to continue serving in their current roles as Managing AUSAs of the Western District’s three branch offices. Randy Ramseyer will continue serving as the Managing AUSA of the Abingdon Division, Ronald M. Huber will remain the Managing AUSA of the Charlottesville Division, and Jeb Terrien will continue to serve as the Managing AUSA of the Harrisonburg Division. In their roles, all three of the Managing AUSAs work closely with the criminal chief and deputy criminal chief on case intake and supervision.