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{{Infobox officeholder
[[File:MorfordCraig.jpg|frame|right|Craig S. Morford]]
| honorific-prefix =
'''Craig S. Morford''' (born 1959) is an American attorney and former acting [[United States Deputy Attorney General]]. He is best known for his successful prosecution of [[James A. Traficant]] and '''''The Morford Report''''', written after the overturning of the 2003 [[Detroit Sleeper Cell]] convictions.
| name = Craig S. Morford
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| honorific-suffix =
| image = MorfordCraig.jpg
| image_size =
| smallimage = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.-->
| alt =
| caption =
| order =
| office = [[United States Deputy Attorney General]]
|status = Acting
| term_start = July 26, 2007
| term_end = March 10, 2008
| alongside = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district. (e.g. United States Senators.)-->
| president = [[George W. Bush]]
| chancellor =
| governor =
| deputy =
| succeeding = <!--For President-elect or equivalent-->
| constituency =
| predecessor = [[Paul McNulty]]
| successor = [[Mark Filip]]
| prior_term =
| order2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| office2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| term_start2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| term_end2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| alongside2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| president2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| chancellor2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| succeeding2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| predecessor2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| successor2 = <!--Can be repeated up to 16 times by changing the number-->
| alma_mater = [[Hope College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[Valparaiso University School of Law|Valparaiso University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
}}
 
'''Craig S. Morford''' (born February 10, 1959{{citation needed|date=March 2014}}) is an American attorney and former acting [[United States Deputy Attorney General]].
== Personal life ==
Craig Morford grew up in [[Schenectady]], N.Y. in a middle-class family. His father, William, marketed [[Pillsbury]] products to grocery stores in upstate New York and [[New England]]. His mother, Betty, was a homemaker who also sold women's clothing during in-home shows. His older brother, William is an antiques dealer. As a child, Morford was intrigued by "[[Perry Mason]]" and "[[Judd for the Defense]]" and dreamed of becoming a lawyer.
<ref name="pdextra">http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2007/07/lead_attorney_found_strength_i.html</ref> He and his wife, Mary Jo, have four children, ages 13 to 22 and live in Rocky River, Ohio.<ref name="pdextra"/>
 
== Early life and education ==
== Education ==
InCraig 1981Morford grew up in [[Schenectady, heNew York]] graduated in 1981 with an [[Economics]] degree from [[Hope College, a small liberal arts school in Holland, Michigan and spent his junior year in Washington]]. He hadwas internshipsa with Sen. [[Harrison Schmitt]]member of Newthe MexicoCosmopolitan and [[Kimberly-Clark]] Corp.Fraternity. In 1984, heHe graduated from [[Valparaiso University School of Law]] in Indiana, 20th in his class of 871984.<ref name="pdextra">{{cite web|url=http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2007/07/lead_attorney_found_strength_i.html|title = Lead attorney found strength in his beliefs|date = 18 July 2007}}</ref>
 
== Career ==
Morford has worked for the Justice Department for twenty years and has spent most of his career as a federal prosecutor pursuing public-corruption and organized- crime cases in [[Cleveland, Ohio]].
 
HisAs first job was with thean [[Internal Revenue Service]]'s districtattorney, counselhe officehelped in Cleveland. In 1983,win a seniorcivil tax attorneyevasion decidedjudgment thein IRS should pursue a tax case1987 against [[James A. Traficant]], elected to Congress in 1984, shouldfor havefailing paidto pay taxes on the $163,000 he tookreceived from the mob. 1987, Morford and Richard Bloom argued the casefigures. Traficant, who had representedbeen himselfacquitted on a 1983 bribery charge, and won, chose to represented himself again however this time the verdictrelated wascriminal "lost"charges.<ref name="pdextra"/>
 
After joining the Justice Department's Organized Crime Strike Force in Cleveland, Morford helped convict the nation's largest pornography distributor, [[Reuben Sturman]], on tax evasion charges in 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1992/Porn-King-Reuben-Sturman-Escapes-From-Desert-Prison-Camp/id-4dbd6cea4ff79dc95cde68da6d813d25l |title=Porn 'King' Reuben Sturman Escapes from Desert Prison Camp |access-date=2014-03-20 |archive-date=2014-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320210137/http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1992/Porn-King-Reuben-Sturman-Escapes-From-Desert-Prison-Camp/id-4dbd6cea4ff79dc95cde68da6d813d25l |url-status=dead }}</ref>
1987, Morford was hired by the [[Strike Force]] to help prosecute pornography czar, [[Reuben Sturman]], who was convicted of hiding and laundering his profits. He also teamed with [[James Wooley]] and prosecuted three [[Hells Angels]] accused of killing a man they mistakenly thought was a rival gang member.
 
From 1996 to 2002, Morford prosecuted more than 70 cases resulting in the convictions of elected officials, law enforcement officers and mob figures in northern Ohio. Those convicted included three county judges, Mahoning County Prosecutor James A. Philomena, Mahoning County Sheriff Philip Chance, and Youngstown mob boss Lenine "Lennie" Strollo, along with 28 associates.<ref name="pdextra"/>
Morford won convictions against mob boss, "Lennie" Lenine Strollo and his minions; several police officers, including Mahoning County Sheriff Philip Chance; three judges; eight lawyers; and the county prosecutor.<ref name="pdextra"/> From 1996-2002, Morford won 70 convictions of corrupt politicians and mob figures in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.
 
In 2002, Morford was lead prosecutor in the second criminal case against Traficant, then in his ninth term as a Democratic Congress member from Youngstown, Ohio. Traficant was convicted on charges of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion and sentenced to eight years in prison.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/02/AR2009090201497.html |title=Former Congressman James Traficant Is Released After 7 Years in Prison |first=Mary |last=Jordan |date=September 3, 2009 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |accessdate=2022-07-02}}</ref>
Morford lead a task force that prosecuted Lucas County Republican Chairman Tom Noe and officials at the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation.<ref name="blog.cleveland.com">http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/03/craig_morford_exfederal_prosec.html</ref>
 
In 2004, Morford led a court-ordered Justice Department review of allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in a major terrorism case that followed the attacks of September 11, 2001. Morford's report concluded that prosecutors had improperly withheld evidence – e-mails, photographs, witness statements and other material – that cast doubt on the government's case. In a rare admission of error, the Justice Department asked a judge to dismiss charges against two convicted defendants.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/03/national/03terror.html|title=Judge Reverses Convictions in Detroit 'Terrorism' Case|newspaper=The New York Times|date=3 September 2004|last1=Hakim|first1=Danny}}</ref>
He briefly worked as acting U.S. attorney in [[Detroit]] and [[Nashville]].
 
In 2006, Morford led a task force that prosecuted Toledo coin dealer Tom Noe, a Republican fundraiser convicted of stealing from a rare-coin fund that he managed for the [[Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation]]. Then-Ohio Gov. [[Bob Taft]], a Republican, pleaded guilty in a separate state case to misdemeanor ethics charges for accepting gifts from Noe.<ref name="blog.cleveland.com">{{cite web|url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/03/craig_morford_exfederal_prosec.html|title=Craig Morford, ex-federal prosecutor, takes Cardinal Health job|date=20 March 2008}}</ref>
In 2002, he was the lead prosecutor in a second case of then-Congressman [[James A. Traficant]], who was convicted of [[bribery]] and [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act|racketeering]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Eggen |first=Dan |title=Morford Named To No. 2 Spot At Justice Dept. |newspaper=Washington Post |pages=A3 |date=July 19, 2007 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/18/AR2007071802234.html|postscript=<!--None-->}}.</ref> Reportedly, he lost twelve pounds during the trial. Morford was Acting [[United States Deputy Attorney General]] in 2007 and 2008, until the confirmation of [[Mark Filip]]. Senate investigation/confirmation would have been required for permanent appointment of Morford as the official Deputy Attorney General.
 
Morford served briefly as U.S. Attorney in [[Detroit]] and [[Nashville]]. He was named acting Deputy Attorney General, the No. 2 position in the Justice Department, in July 2007, and mentioned as a possible nominee for Attorney General.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082800104.html |title=Sharp Questions Await Gonzales Successor |first=Lara Jakes |last=Jordan |date=August 28, 2007 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |accessdate=2022-07-02}}</ref>
He was formerly the Acting [[United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee|United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee]] and the Eastern District of [[Michigan]].
 
While acting Deputy Attorney General, Morford wrote what is referred to as the "Morford Memo" establishing new guidelines for how federal prosecutors select and use compliance monitors in [[corporate crime]] settlements.<ref>https://www.justice.gov/dag/morford-useofmonitorsmemo-03072008.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> The department had previously been criticized when then-U.S. Attorney [[Chris Christie]] required a company to name former Attorney General [[John Ashcroft]] to a lucrative monitoring contract.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/washington/10justice.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title = Ashcroft Deal Brings Scrutiny in Justice Dept|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 10 January 2008|last1 = Shenon|first1 = Philip}}</ref>
Since May, 2008, Morford is the Chief Compliance Officer at Cardinal Health, a health care technology developer in Dublin, Ohio. He is responsible for company compliance with internal policies and outside regulations that govern the company's products, services and operations.<ref name="blog.cleveland.com"/>
 
In May, 2008, Morford joined [[Cardinal Health]], a large healthcare services company in Dublin, Ohio, and is currently Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, overseeing legal, compliance, regulatory and government affairs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cardinalhealth.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=20295&item=122605|title = Cardinal Health Names Former Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney General Craig S. Morford to Chief Compliance Officer Post}}</ref>
== U.S. v. James A. Traficant ==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Traficantmug.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Summit County Ohio Jail Mugshot of James Traficant, Aug. 1, 2002]] -->
In 2002, Traficant was indicted<ref>http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/traficant/traficant50401indt.pdf</ref> on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. He represented himself, insisting that the trial was part of a vendetta against him dating to his 1983 acquittal on federal bribery charges. On April 15, 2002, after nine weeks of testimony and nearly four days of deliberating, he was convicted of 10 felony counts, four counts of [[bribery]], one count of accepting illegal gratuities, one count of [[obstruction of justice]], one count of [[conspiracy to defraud]] the United States, two counts of filing a false [[tax return]] and one count of [[racketeering]] including bribery, racketeering, and [[tax evasion]].<ref>http://www.weathernet5.com/sh/news/ohio/stories/news-ohio-139397020020411-150436.html</ref> On July 29, 2002, he was sentenced to eight years of prison and fined him $150,000 (in addition to $96,000 a jury had ordered him to return),<ref>http://everything2.com/title/James%2520A.%2520Traficant%252C%2520Jr.</ref>
 
{{s-start}}
On July 16, 2002, [[U.S. House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct|the House Committee Standards of Official Conduct]] convened a misconduct hearing and heard testimony from Richard Detore, who testified on Traficant's behalf (broadcast on C-SPAN).<ref>http://www.eToys-Bankruptcy-Fraud.info/cspan.wmv C-SPAN Video (16Jul2002)</ref>
 
Detore testified that the prosecutor, [[Craig Morford]], was allegedly [[witness tampering]], committing [[prosecutorial misconduct]] related to the alleged Youngstown, Ohio's Cafaro Company's involvement in [[tax fraud]] and mafia [[money-laundering]]. During Detore's second interview, Morford threatened that the [[IRS]] would audit him if he did not testify according to a "script", and that he would prove Detore committed [[bank fraud]], which was false. Morford continuously attempted to harass, agitate and intimidate, "yelling, screaming, and throwing papers at" Defore for being "uncooperative", and warning him he "was getting on the wrong train". Detore refused to lie for anyone for any reason, and refused to testify. Detore's home was invaded and ransacked. Morford had granted him direct and indirect [[Immunity from prosecution|immunity]], but denied it, after Detore refused to testify. "It was a process by ambush...an out-of-body experience."
 
Even with [[exculpatory]] [[evidence]], Morford indicted Detore with one count of conspiracy to violate the Federal [[Bribery]] Statute by serving as liaison between his former employer, U.S. Aerospace Group, and Traficant, but was acquitted<ref>http://google.com/searchq=cache:vbNpMlpoX5UJ:www.convertino.blogspot.com/+craig+morford+prosecutorial+misconduct&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us</ref> by a jury. See ''[[C-SPAN]] videos: here''<ref>http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID=171263-2&clipStart=&clipStop=</ref><ref>http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID=171263-3&clipStart=&clipStop=</ref><ref>http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID=171263-4&clipStart=&clipStop=</ref>
 
Ohio Congressman [[Ted Strickland]] was so disturbed by these sworn televised allegations of DOJ misconduct that he publicly called for an investigation.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,58248,00.html Fox News (23Jul2002)</ref> The DOJ 'internal affairs'<ref>http://www.usdoj.gov/opr/ Called the "Office of Professional Responsibility"</ref> ignored Strickland, never investigating either the sworn military earwitness affidavit<ref>http://www.eToys-Bankruptcy-Fraud.info/navycapt.pdf Affidavit (25Jun2002)</ref> or the attorney billing records <ref>http://arentfox.com/people/index.cfm?fa=profile&id=193 John Nassikas Esq. of Arent Fox</ref> that corroborated the dates/times of harassing witness tampering phone calls testified to on C-SPAN and in the affidavit.
 
== The Morford Report ==
After a nine-month internal review of the [[Detroit Sleeper Cell]] case,
<ref>http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/uskoubriti82802ind.pdf</ref> the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] findings showed that prosecutors railroaded the defendants to prison, concealing dozens of pieces of [[exculpatory evidence]] that should have been given to defense attorneys during the trial. Subsequently, On September 2, 2004, US District Judge [[Gerald Rosen]], threw out the June 2003 convictions of three Detroit-area men.
 
The judge ruled that the prosecution’s “understandable sense of mission and zeal to obtain a conviction” in the wake of September 11 “overcame not only its professional judgment, but its broader obligations to the justice system and the rule of law.”
 
The internal investigation, a 60-page memorandum , '''''The Morford Report''''' submitted by Craig Morford on August 31, 2004,<ref>http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/terrorism040831.htm</ref> found that the prosecution withheld from the defense numerous e-mails, photographs, witness statements and other items, and that the errors and misconduct in the case were so widespread that there was “no reasonable prospect of winning” on appeal.
 
<blockquote>
“In its best light, the record would show that the prosecution committed a pattern of mistakes and oversights that deprived defendants of discoverable evidence...and created a record filled with misleading inferences that such material did not exist...Unfortunately, numerous developments since trial, including the discovery of significant materials not disclosed by the prosecution, have undermined each part of this three-legged stool.”
</blockquote>
 
[[Richard Convertino]], the lead prosecutor, was the subject of the Report. He was removed from the case. Convertino allegedly failed to turn over photographic evidence to the defense and obtained evidence from witnesses, leading the judge and other attorneys to believe the photographs did not exist. The Report indicated that much of the key evidence and testimony in the prosecution’s case was either fabricated or deliberately misrepresented. A videotape was found at the men’s apartment. A Tunisian man in the video told investigators that the tape was shot while he was a university student on trips to [[Disneyland]], [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], [[New York]], and other tourist locales. Prosecutors demonstrated to the jury that the tape was surveillance footage for a potential terrorist attack, but failed to reveal that FBI agents had disagreed with this supposition, and that “under the court’s established protocol, the government should have brought this information to the court’s attention.” An Air Force colonel testified that military officials agreed that a sketch was of an aircraft hangar at the base in Turkey. The Report concluded that American investigators in Germany determined the sketch was an outline of the Middle East. A CIA official had shown it to various experts who invalidated its significance. The prosecution denied to the Defense they had photos of a Jordan prison hospital. The Report claimed, “It is difficult, if not impossible, to compare the...sketch with the photos and see a correlation." The Report report criticized the testimony of the [[Youssef Hmimmsa]], the prosecution’s star witness. Hmimmsa testifiied that the defendants asked him to join a terrorist cell that was planning to shoot down airplanes with [[FIM-92 Stinger|Stinger]] missiles and were involved in other [[terrorist]] activities.In exchange for his testimony, Hmimmsa enter guilty pleas to 10 [[felony]] counts, and was sentenced to 37 to 46 months in prison rather than up to 81 years. The Report claims Richard Convertino “made a deliberate decision not to have the FBI take any notes” during Hmimmsa’s debriefings sessions, to avoid any challenge to his trial testimony.<ref>http://google.com/search?q=cache:YZw715DTgcgJ:www.wsws.org/articles/2004/sep2004/detrs03.shtml+convertino+morford&cd=20&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/19/AR2005111900952_3.html | work=The Washington Post | title=Detroit 'Sleeper Cell' Prosecutor Faces Probe | first=Peter | last=Slevin | date=November 20, 2005 | accessdate=April 30, 2010}}</ref>
 
===Convertino acquittal===
Subsequently, in the case entitled, '''''US v. John Doe''''',<ref>http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/March/06_crm_183.html</ref> Convertino was charged with [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] to conceal possibly exculpatory evidence from the defense and lying to a Federal judge. Harry Smith III, formerly a U.S. Department of State investigator, who had testified in the terrorism case prosecuted by Richard Convertino, was allegedly part of the conspiracy. Not turning the evidence over to the defense had led, at the government's request, to the court dismissal of the terrorism case prior to the charging of the case's prosecutor for the conspiracy. Convertino faced a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. On October 31, 2007, a jury acquitted the prosecutor and the investigator. Convertino told reporters in the federal district courthouse here that the charges of obstruction of justice were “a politically motivated prosecution that never should have been brought.”<ref>http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/NEWS19/71031020</ref>
<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/us/01detroit.html | work=The New York Times | title=Ex-Prosecutor Acquitted of Misconduct in 9/11 Case | first=Philip | last=Shenon | date=November 1, 2007 | accessdate=April 30, 2010}}</ref>
 
Convertino had previously filed a lawsuit
<ref>http://files.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/doj/convertino21304cmp.pdf</ref> against the Justice Department, former Attorney General [[John D. Ashcroft]] and other superiors, accusing them of mismanaging anti-terrorism efforts and retaliating against him for testifying to Congress about those efforts.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/19/AR2005111900952.html | work=The Washington Post | title=Detroit 'Sleeper Cell' Prosecutor Faces Probe | first=Peter | last=Slevin | date=November 20, 2005 | accessdate=April 30, 2010}}</ref>
 
Convertino explained his travails on the [[Public Radio International]] program [[This American Life]].
<ref>http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=356</ref>
 
{{start box}}
{{s-legal}}
{{U.S. SecretaryCabinet official box
| before = [[Paul McNulty]]
| after = [[Mark Filip]]
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| president = [[George W. Bush]]
| department = Deputy Attorney General}}
{{s-end box}}
 
==References==
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==External links==
*[ http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/cnnhdocs/docs/traficantterrorism/traficant50401indtuskoubriti82802ind.pdf, '''''US v. JamesKARIM TrafficantKOUBRITI, et al.'''''], MayAugust 428, 20012002.
*{{C-SPAN|1025317}}
*[http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID=171263-2&clipStart=&clipStop= ''CSPAN'' video of Trafficant Congressional Hearing, Part 1] July 16, 2002.
*[http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID=171263-3&clipStart=&clipStop= ''CSPAN'' video of Trafficant Congressional Hearing, Part 2] July 16, 2002.
*[http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID=171263-4&clipStart=&clipStop= ''CSPAN'' video of Trafficant Congressional Hearing, Part 3] July 16, 2002.
*[http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/uskoubriti82802ind.pdf '''''US v. KARIM KOUBRITI, et al.'''''], August 28, 2002.
*[http://files.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/doj/convertino21304cmp.pdf '''''Richard Convertino v. USA'''''], February 13, 2004.
*[http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=356, ''"The Prosecutor"''], May 30, 2008
 
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Morford, Craig S.
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1959
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morford, Craig S.}}
[[Category:United States Deputy Attorneys General]]
[[Category:Hope College alumni]]
[[Category:George W. Bush Administrationadministration personnel]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Valparaiso University School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:1959 births]]
 
[[de:Craig S. Morford]]
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