Mukasey Taps 30-Year Vet Prosecutor for Tapes Probe

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The man Michael Mukasey chose to lead the CIA tapes probe is John Durham. Who is John Durham? Well, the short answer is a 30-year veteran prosecutor with some serious experience with tough prosecutions.

We’ve posted his work experience below, as passed along by the U.S. attorney’s office in Connecticut, where Durham serves as the deputy.

As the AP puts it, “Durham has a reputation as one of the nation’s most relentless prosecutors. He served as an outside prosecutor overseeing an investigation into the FBI’s use of mob informants in Boston and helped send several Connecticut public officials to prison.”

Update: From The Washington Post:

Durham is well known in New England legal circles as a tough, publicity-averse prosecutor who has specialized in organized crime cases. Former attorney general Janet Reno named Durham as a special prosecutor to investigate allegations that FBI agents and police officers in Boston had ties to mafia informants. He is a registered Republican, according to Connecticut voter records.

The Boston probe led to the 2002 racketeering conviction of retired FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr., who was the handler for gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, a former FBI informant who is now a fugitive.

Durham’s history is below.

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

* March 1994 – Present (except for interim service as United States Attorney and Counsel to the U.S. Attorney) – Deputy United States Attorney: Supervises all Assistant U.S. Attorneys assigned in the three offices of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut; evaluates, prepares and prosecutes major felony cases within the District with special emphasis on complex criminal matters

* January 1999 – Present – Special Attorney, District of Massachusetts, Head of Justice Task Force reviewing alleged criminal conduct of FBI and other law enforcement corruption in Boston, MA

* September 1989 – March 1994 – Assistant United States Attorney (Chief, Criminal Division): Supervised all Criminal Division Assistant U.S. Attorneys assigned in the three offices of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut; evaluated, prepared and prosecuted major felony cases within the District with special emphasis on organized crime matters

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, ORGANIZED CRIME AND RACKETEERING SECTION (Boston Strike Force/New Haven Field Office)

* December 1982 – September 1989 — Supervised the New Haven Field Office of the Boston Strike Force from June 1987 until September 1989; evaluated, prepared, and prosecuted major RICO and RICO-related cases directed at Gambino, Genovese, and Patriarca LCN members and associates operating within the District of Connecticut

OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY/NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

* November 1978 – December 1982 – Assistant State’s Attorney: Supervised operation of the Career Criminal Unit of the State’s Attorney’s Office; evaluated, prepared, and prosecuted major violent felony cases against repeat offenders; supervised work of all Unit attorneys, inspectors, and staff

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF STATE’S ATTORNEY

* September 1977 – November 1978 – Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney: Preparation and prosecution of criminal cases in various criminal courts throughout the State of Connecticut; preparation and argument of appeals; preparation of legal memoranda, grand materials, and research data

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