PITTSBURGH — United States Attorney Cindy Chung announced the bureau’s new leadership team and a restructuring of the criminal division that will allow the bureau to better implement the administration’s priorities.

“This restructuring aligns the legal expertise and talents of the 59 Assistant United States Attorneys working in our offices in Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Erie with our priorities to uphold the Constitution, apply the law equally and fairly, and protect citizens of western Pennsylvania,” U.S. Attorney Chung said. “I am confident that this reorganization will allow us to focus our attention on reducing violent crime, combating the growing threat of fentanyl and the rise of extremist ideology, prosecuting cybercriminals and targeting those who exploit children. and other vulnerable populations.”

Ms Chung appointed Assistant US Attorney Troy Rivetti as the first Assistant US Attorney. Mr. Rivetti has served as Chief of the Criminal Division since 2019. Mr. Rivetti received his Bachelor of Arts from Dickinson College and his JD from Georgetown University. After graduating from law school, Mr. Rivetti was employed for five years as a litigation associate at a large Pittsburgh law firm. He then served as a law clerk for two years for the Honorable D. Brooks Smith. Mr. Rivetti was employed as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania for over 20 years. His main areas of concentration have involved the investigation and prosecution of large-scale drug trafficking organizations, firearms offenses and other violent crimes.

Ms. Chung appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song as head of the criminal division. From October 2010 to March 2018, Ms. Song served as the First Assistant United States Attorney and Acting United States Attorney (November 2016 – December 2017). She also most recently served as Counterterrorism Advisory Coordinator and Senior Legal Counsel for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Song is a founding member of the Veterans Treatment Court in Pittsburgh. Prior to joining the Western District of Pennsylvania, Ms. Song worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Arizona and served as Deputy Director of the Office of Tribal Justice at the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC. Ms. Song has been recognized for her service to victims of crime and has received the United States Attorney General’s Award, Director’s Award, and Western Pennsylvania LEAD Award. She is a graduate of Yale University and the George Washington Law School.

Ms Chung named former acting U.S. attorney Stephen R. Kaufman as executive assistant to the U.S. attorney. Mr. Kaufman served as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2018 to 2021, and previously served as Chief of the Criminal Division from 2010 to 2018. During his 29 years as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Kaufman has handled a wide variety of violent crimes, narcotics, child exploitation and white collar workers. Notable cases include the successful eight-week trial of Pittsburgh organized crime family La Cosa Nostra on RICO charges, the prosecution of distributors of China White, a lethal synthetic form of heroin that caused the overdose death of 17 people in 1988, the prosecution of Michael Carlow, owner of Pittsburgh Brewing and Clark Candy, for perpetuating a $31 million check scheme against PNC Bank, and securing the conviction and an 11-year prison sentence for Dr. Oliver Herndon, a physician who was the most prolific illegal distributor of oxycodone in the Pittsburgh area before his arrest. Mr. Kaufman is a graduate of Allegheny College and Harvard Law School.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee J. Karl has been named head of the civil division. Mr. Karl joined the office in 2004 as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division where he defended the United States, its agencies and its employees in a wide range of civil lawsuits. In 2010, he was transferred to the economic crimes section of the criminal division, where he prosecuted various crimes, including fraud schemes, embezzlement, public corruption, tax offenses and child exploitation. . In 2018, he became deputy chief of the economic crimes section and helped oversee the section. Mr. Karl has held other positions in the office, including Ethics Officer, Asset Forfeiture Coordinator, Financial Disputes Coordinator and District Elections Officer. Prior to joining the Bureau, Mr. Karl spent two years as a litigation partner at a major Pittsburgh law firm and spent a year as a federal court clerk for the Hon. Ronald Buckwalter in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Ohio University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Assistant United States Attorney Laura Irwin will continue to serve as Chief of the Appeals Division. Ms. Irwin graduated in 1991 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk to the Hon. William W. Wilkins, Jr. at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. After several years in private practice in Pittsburgh following her externship, Ms. Irwin joined the US Attorney’s office in 2000 as a member of the Civil Division. She was transferred to the Appeals Division in 2004. In September 2018, she was appointed Head of the Appeals Division.

Don Haley will continue as District Administrative Officer.

Along with naming her leadership team, Ms Chung announced a restructured criminal division with two sections. The Violent Crimes and Narcotics Section will be led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tonya Goodman as Chief, and the Deputy Chief will be Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Doolittle. The Economic Crimes/Cyber/National Security Section will be led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan as Chief.

Tonya Goodman is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia School of Law. After graduating from law school, she served as a law clerk to the Hon. Robert I. Richter in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In 2001, Ms. Goodman joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where she prosecuted local and federal crimes, from domestic violence offenses and federal drug offenses to homicide and violent crimes. From 2006 to 2012, she worked as an associate at Reed Smith, LLP, where she focused on white collar criminal defense and internal investigations. In 2012, Ms Goodman joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in western Pennsylvania, originally working in the white collar section before transferring to violent crimes. Ms. Goodman previously served as Chief and Deputy Chief of the Narcotics and Organized Crime Section.

Eric G. Olshan joined the bureau in 2017 as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Economic Crimes Section. During his tenure in office, he served as Civil Rights Coordinator, Health Care Fraud Coordinator, Public Corruption Coordinator, Environmental Crime Coordinator, and District Elections Officer. From 2007 to 2017, Mr. Olshan served as a prosecutor and deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where he prosecuted public corruption and election crimes in federal districts across the United States. United States. Mr. Olshan joined the Department through the Attorney General’s Honors Program after interning with the Honorable Richard C. Tallman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Olshan is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Barbara K. Doolittle joined the United States Attorney’s Office in 2009, after serving two years as an Allegheny County Deputy Public Defender. During her years as AUSA, she prosecuted violations of narcotics, firearms, Hobbs Law robbery, bank robbery, and human trafficking, among others. Ms. Doolittle was recognized as an outstanding prosecutor for her work on a lengthy wiretap investigation into drug trafficking in and around Fayette County. She most recently served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division’s Major Crimes Section. Ms. Doolittle is a graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School.

The United States Attorney’s Office prosecutes civil and criminal cases on behalf of the United States of America and its agencies and defends claims against the United States in the 25 counties that make up the western part of the Commonwealth. The office currently employs 59 assistant U.S. attorneys in the criminal, civil, and appellate division, and 55 support staff in Pittsburgh, Erie, and Johnstown.