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Bar News - January 7, 2005 Criminal Docket Growing in Federal Court THE NUMBER OF criminal cases being filed in federal district court has been steadily increasing in New Hampshire and elsewhere in the country. In New Hampshire, the number of cases has risen 50 percent from 2000 to 2003 (see chart), resulting from prosecutions in a variety of areas, says Thomas P. Colantuono, the U.S. attorney for New Hampshire. The fight against terrorism, the top priority of the Department of Justice nationwide in the wake of 9/11, has not detracted from other prosecutorial initiatives, Colantuono contends, and is instead boosting prosecutions of federal crimes on a number of fronts. For example, anti-terrorism efforts have led federal prosecutors to focus on identity fraud and economic crimes that might be used to fund terrorist activities. New Hampshire's contribution to the war on terrorism includes a coordinated effort to detect and prosecute passport fraud in applications received at the U.S. State Department's Passport Processing Center at the Pease International Tradeport, where 25 percent of U.S. passport renewals are handled. Bjorn Lange, the federal public defender in New Hampshire, is responding to the increasing criminal caseload by seeking authority to hire a third attorney to represent indigent defendants in federal court. He contends that many of the cases swelling the criminal docket are for minor offenses that previously would have been handled administratively. He also questions the tie-in to anti-terrorism, pointing out, for example, that none of those convicted for passport fraud in NH has had any connection to terrorism. Lange's office is challenging some of those convictions by appealing the issue of venue. The defendants had never lived or even set foot in New Hampshire, and the only connection to NH is that it is the state in which their renewal applications were processed. Colantuono maintains that prosecutions for passport fraud are an attempt to eliminate tools that terrorists can use to elude surveillance or to fund their activities. Even though the suspects have no apparent connection to terrorist groups, the passport fraud cases have been valuable to the anti-terrorism effort by leading to the discovery of widespread trafficking in blank birth certificates, which criminals can use to help build fictitious identities, Colantuono said. Colantuono said federal law enforcement authorities are also making effective use of another law enforcement tool - asset forfeiture - which is more easily used as a result of the Patriot Act and which can be employed to foil terrorist plots as well as to more effectively provide restitution to victims. Last year, the US Attorney's Office seized $4.5 million from the accounts of several Middle Eastern banks under the provisions of the Patriot Act, intending to pay the victims of a fraudulent scheme involving a group of Canadian citizens who allegedly raised more than $5 million from elderly people whom they duped into believing they had won large cash prizes in a lottery. In order to claim their prizes, the victims were asked to send cash amounts in cashier's checks to "pre-pay" Canadian taxes and fees. Colantuono said it was one of the first uses of the asset forfeiture provisions of the Patriot Act in the country. The funds continue to be held pending the settlement of claims by victims and the outcome of the case. Colantuono praised the work of Gretchen Witt, who heads up the Civil Division at the U.S. Attorney's Office, and Donald Feith, who oversees the Criminal Division, in the asset forfeiture area. Colantuono is also active in coordination of federal and state efforts to enhance homeland security. Colantuono, a former state senator and executive councilor, regularly meets with a state anti-terrorism task force that is continually evaluating and strengthening security at points of vulnerability, such as airports, the port, borders and sensitive industries and facilities. His office recently helped the NH Port Authority obtain a $1.2 million grant to enhance security at that facility. The U.S. Attorney's Office is also continuing its work with local police departments to assist with levying federal charges against drug dealers, and is expanding its collaboration with local authorities through "Project Safe Neighborhoods," a national initiative aimed at increasing federal prosecutions of suspects in violent crimes who use guns. "We are working now with local law enforcement to make sure that every policeman on the beat knows that criminals can be made to do federal time for gun possession," said Colantuono. The office has also been active in the area of corporate and Internet fraud, including cases involving the sale of pirated software, fraudulent auctions over e-Bay and other schemes. The scheme of garden-variety con artists, Colantuono said, can easily be magnified in scale by the Internet. "Internet makes traditional fraud so much easier to reach so many people faster," he said. Colantuono said he can't believe it has been only two years since he was appointed to the office. He praised the talent and dedication of his entire staff, which includes 24 attorneys, six in the civil division and 16 in the criminal division, although only 14 are working in New Hampshire (two attorneys are on assignment elsewhere in the Department of Justice.) "It's been an incredible experience and I look forward to our initiatives continuing to bear fruit in the next few years," he said.
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