Biden nominates new top federal prosecutor for northern Ohio

CLEVELAND, Ohio— President Joe Biden on Wednesday made his pick for the top federal prosecutor in northern Ohio, a role that went unfilled for the longest time in history.

Biden nominated veteran prosecutor Becky Lutzko to lead the U.S. attorney’s office. She’ll oversee the prosecution of federal crimes in the northernmost 40 counties, an area that includes nearly 6 million residents.

Lutzko must be confirmed by the Senate before taking office. A hearing date has not yet been set, and it’s unknown if the hearing will happen before the Senate’s August recess.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Cleveland has gone without a Senate-confirmed leader for the longest stretch in its 166-year history. The last was Justin Herdman, who resigned on Jan. 8, 2021, shortly after former President Donald Trump left office. Trump nominated Herdman.

Some criticized Biden for waiting so long to nominate a new top prosecutor and said the lack of a Senate-confirmed leader in the office may have led to Cuyahoga County prosecutors handling certain cases, rather than federal attorneys.

Biden in November 2021 nominated Marisa Darden, a former assistant U.S. attorney, for the role and the Senate later confirmed her.

Darden, however, resigned without ever stepping foot in the office. She said in a statement she wanted to spend more time with family.

An Associated Press story, however, said she became ensnared in an investigation into claims made by corrupt former DEA agent Jose Irizarry, who said Darden partied on a boat he bought with money he took from the Mexican drug cartels he was supposed to be investigating. Irizarry is serving a 12-year prison sentence.

The office has been led for nearly two years by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Baeppler.

Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who tracks presidential nominees, said Biden has been slow to nominate U.S. attorneys and judges.

“It’s not a criticism of the acting U.S. attorney, but you don’t have the same authority in that role,” Tobias said. “This is a good development. She’s been in the office for 18 years, held high level positions and there shouldn’t be a problem with the nomination.”

Lutzko, long rumored to be Biden’s next pick, has been the office’s appellate division chief since 2017. Herdman, the former U.S. attorney, hailed the decision to nominate Lutzko.

“I’m very pleased to hear a decision has been made to move forward with the nomination and for Becky to be next U.S. attorney,” Herdman said. “She provided outstanding service as an assistant U.S. attorney and a supervisor while I served in that role. I’m sure she’ll have the confidence of community and law enforcement as she provides leadership and guidance to the office.”

Lutzko served a two-year term as a Hinkley Township trustee from 2018 to 2020. She has worked as a federal prosecutor since 2005.

She handled several high-profile cases, including the prosecution of Ben Suarez, who was found not guilty of illegally funneling campaign money to politicians through employees of his Suarez Corp. Industries in the hopes of they would intervene on his behalf in litigation against his company.

A jury found Suarez guilty of witness tampering, and he was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Suarez’s chief financial officer was convicted of the campaign-finance scheme and sentenced to two years in prison.

Lutzko also helped prosecute an Akron doctor sentenced to 10 years in prison for doling out hundreds of thousands of painkillers to patients for no medical purpose, including to eight patients who died. And she helped prosecute a massive, pill mill ring that sent Vicodin to people in all 50 states. Thirteen defendants in that case were sentenced to prison.

Biden on Wednesday also nominated two federal judges, both in Louisiana, judge for the Court of Federal Claims and one judge for the District of Columbia Superior Court.

Adam Ferrise covers federal courts at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. You can find his work here.