Feds to Crack Down on County Crime

Saying that Orange County has emerged as a major center for telemarketing fraud and gang activity, the Santa Ana branch of the U.S. attorney’s office is planning to bolster its staff by two-thirds as part of an aggressive effort to crack down on federal crimes.

Assistant U.S. Atty. John Hueston, who recently took over as chief of the Orange County office, said more prosecutors are needed to combat sophisticated organized-crime networks and street gangs.

He said dismantling telemarketing fraud rings will also remain a priority because of the county’s reputation as a center for “boiler-room” operations that prey on the elderly.

“The key is to stop this sort of crime and end the era of Orange County being the capital of telemarketing fraud,” Hueston said.

The boost in staffing is the latest sign of the federal government’s growing presence in the county. The Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Santa Ana opened two years ago, replacing the converted trailers in which federal trials were once held.

And earlier this year, the county’s first federal grand jury was impaneled. Prosecutors are hoping that a second grand jury will follow next year.

The increased staffing in Orange County is also part of the U.S. attorney’s office’s broader plan to expand to other Southern California counties. Next year, a branch staffed with four prosecutors will open in Riverside County.

In the past, many Orange County cases have been prosecuted in Los Angeles due to low staffing levels and the lack of federal judges and a federal grand jury in Santa Ana.

But as the county has grown, the number and complexity of federal cases has continued to surge, officials said. Last year, the office filed about 130 cases, and Hueston estimated that the number could rise to 200 in coming years if a fourth federal judge is assigned to the county.

Hueston said he hopes the staffing boost from 12 to 20 prosecutors will convey a “message of deterrence” and make the Orange County operation more self-sufficient.

Interviewed in his expansive eighth-floor office with sweeping views of the county, Hueston said he wants to oversee a “vast change” in the direction of the office.

Prosecutors, he said, will more aggressively target real-estate fraud networks and civil-rights abuses as well as Internet-related crimes such as child pornography and hacking. He said he will be personally involved in prosecuting public-corruption cases.

Additionally, Hueston said, the office will continue combating violent crimes and gangs. “Orange County is home to some of the largest and most violent street gangs and organized-crime networks,” he said, noting that the gangs account for a large percentage of violent crimes in the county.

Hueston’s boss, U.S. Atty. Alejandro Mayorkas, agreed: “The county experiences the very same diversity of crime problems as does Los Angeles County. From violent crime to sophisticated fraud crime, it is imperative to address those problems aggressively.”

The FBI welcomed the staffing boost, saying that more federal prosecutors will help improve efficiency. “Once you investigate something, you have to get it prosecuted,” said Matthew McLaughlin, an FBI spokesman. “I would view this as a step to helping to reduce crime rates.”

Craig Wilke, head of the federal public defender’s office in Santa Ana, said he hopes the action will lead to more cases against wide-ranging criminal operations. He said prosecutors in the past have focused too much time on cases against low-level drug and illegal-immigrant offenders.

“The Feds should be involved in more large-scale prosecutions,” Wilke said. “They ought to leave a lot of the small-time stuff to the local cops.”

The Orange County U.S. attorney’s office has handled a flurry of high-profile cases in recent years: the political-corruption case against former Santa Ana Councilman Ted Moreno and three of his political allies, and the prosecution of the doctors at the center of the UC Irvine fertility-clinic scandal.

Federal prosecutors are also currently handling cases against members of the largest Asian organized-crime syndicate in the county. And earlier this month, they won convictions against a notorious Santa Ana gang leader who ran one of Southern California’s largest drug distribution networks.

Despite these large cases, officials expect to remain focused on the bank-robbery, drug and immigration crimes that constitute the majority of cases handled by the office.

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Federal Crimes

The Santa Ana Branch of the U.S. attorney’s office is increasing its prosecutorial staff as part of an aggressive effort to crack down on federal crimes. Officials say Orange County has emerged as a major center for telemarketing fraud and gang activity. Here is a breakdown of the types of cases handled by the office in 1999:

Fraud: 20%

Violent crime: 15%

Immigration crime: 30%

Tax and money laundering: 10%

Drug offenses: 20%

Public corruption: 5%

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Source: U.S. attorney’s office