Matt Quinn gave Rotarians a “State of the Union” look for the US Attorney Eastern District Texas. He oversees lawyers (45) and staff, including research, (approximately 100) over 6 offices in 43 counties in Eastern Texas. The District stretches from Texarkana to the Gulf and reaches Plano (Denton County) to the Louisiana border. It is not a squared off plot as population spread determines its reach.

Case work for the District was shut down for a month due to the pandemic and after that cases were tried utilizing Zoom and other technology to keep the system in operation. Since 2019, the group has indicted 12,000 defendants and filed more than 224 cases than the previous year. Staff returned full-time to offices in March of 2022.

The priority of the District is to reduce violent crime, fraud and illegal drug supply. They work with local law enforcement units to determine violent crime areas that need the most attention. 6% of the population commit 60% of the violent crime so it makes sense to target the areas most in need and work with local forces who can determine that need.

There is some difficulty in indicting “scams” due to the reluctance of the elderly, the target population for scams, to come forward and report the crime. They have a team of speakers available to speak to target groups who would benefit from hearing the information.

This District is #1 in the United States for extradition of drug lords. The development of relations with other countries has helped in this matter. A Rivera drug lord is in prison in Mexico for life and Garcia is in Columbia for life. The largest cocaine shipment, 4 ½ tons, was discovered on 2 submarines off the coast.

National security has been another area of concern for 27 years now since the destruction of the Alfred Murrah building. Working behind the scenes to determine which threats are real and which are idiotic takes place everyday and many threats have been averted.

Fraud has been prosecuted for over $17 million in PPP loans during the pandemic when criminals took advantage of a rushed government payroll program. Electronic theft is also being prosecuted in cases involving $100 million dollars.

Right now, the #1 killer of men aged 18-35 is the fentanyl epidemic. The District is working to publicize this with a “1 Pill Can Kill” campaign assisted by parents of young men who have died. A & M has been a partner in the working of plans of fentanyl coming out of Houston. Presently, a spray drug that would reverse the effect of this drug overdose is being researched.

The U S Attorney Eastern District has been busy and productive even during the pandemic.