ATLANTA — The new U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia says he’s taking a more aggressive approach to fighting crime.
His district covers 46 counties across the region.
Theodore “Teddy” Hertzberg told Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne that his team’s ready to go after federal criminal justice on all cylinders.
He said he’s dealing with a manpower shortage in part by streamlining bureaucracy, drawing on his knowledge of how things work from a decade in the trenches when he attacked multi-million-dollar fraud, drug and gun trafficking, and more.
“It’s something that I have done for the last 10 years as an Assistant United States Attorney. We are going to ensure that the administration of federal justice is fast, firm and fair,” Hertzberg said. “Criminals should understand that we’re coming for them. The department has been a sleeping dragon for too long.”
Hertzberg said a “zombie knife” was an exhibit in a case where he was lead prosecutor that led to guilty pleas from 25 of 26 alleged members or associates of the violent, drug trafficking Ghostface Gangsters gang.
He said the knife was used to cut a Ghostface tattoo from the skin of a member who had supposedly violated gang rules.
He said he’s on the team prosecuting a RICO case against members of Sex Money Murda -- one of the most violent sets of the national Bloods Gang.
He got serious time for a pair of metro Atlanta men helping traffic guns from Georgia to Canada, many of which wound up in crimes there.
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As a rank-and-file prosecutor, he also got a 30-year sentence against Stacy Keith Wisener for sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl and producing child porn of the abuse.
“There’s no parole in the federal system,” Hertzberg said.
He says he’s worked fentanyl cases, particularly important in his new job since metro Atlanta is a major hub for Mexico-based cartels.
Hertzberg confirmed he met with President Donald Trump as part of the appointment process.
“Is politics going to influence what happens here?” Winne asked Hertzberg.
“Absolutely not. The only thing that influences what we do is what is right,” Hertzberg said.
He told Winne that he backs the policies set by Washington thus far in what’s called Operation Take Back America.
“Our focus is on dismantling and eliminating transnational criminal organizations, cartels, addressing violent crime and securing the border,” Hertzberg said.
“What about the immigration controversy? How much of your time does immigration take up?” Winne asked Hertzberg.
“Immigration is a focus of ours, but I wouldn’t say that it’s something that overwhelms us,” Hertzberg said.
Hertzberg said he will keep personally prosecuting cases in court. That’s not necessarily the nationwide norm for the boss, but the office is in a hiring freeze and down a third of its prosecutors.
“We are just woefully understaffed,” Hertzberg said.
He said his grandfathers, who served in World War II, influenced his desire to serve and his love of country.
“Every day, the folks who work in my office do so so that they can make the community safe,” Hertzberg said.
Hertzberg said the attorney general has appointed him to the post for 120 days, and staying for the rest of Trump’s term requires presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.
If that hasn’t happened by the end of the 120 days, the chief federal district judge here can extend his appointment until the Senate confirms him or someone else.
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