Loretta Lynch/law firm photo

WASHINGTON -– Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on Thursday lauded the Senate for clearing up a backlog of nominations and confirming five U.S. Attorneys and five U.S. Marshals. He said some of the nominations had been pending before the Senate for more than a month.

“I am grateful that Senate Republicans have released the holds that have prevented the confirmation of these 10 law enforcement nominations,” Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. “I spoke about them, again, this morning. I thank Senator Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, for helping to clear these nominations at this time.”

“I hope this marks the end of Republican obstruction that has forced procedural motions to end filibusters when there is no opposition, and that they will not continue to make extensive demands for extended debate time when there is no debate,” he said. “We need to get to issues that concern the American people, including Wall Street reform and patent reform. ”

The U.S. Attorney nominations confirmed Thursday afternoon include: William N. Nettles for the District of South Carolina; Wilfredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida; David A. Capp for the Northern District of Indiana; Anne M. Tompkins for the Western District of North Carolina and  Loretta E. Lynch for the Eastern District of New York.

The nominations for U.S. Marshals included: Kelly M. Nesbit for the Western District of North Carolina; Peter C. Munoz for the Western District of Michigan; Noel C. March for the District of Maine; George White for the Southern District of Mississippi;  and Brian T. Underwood for the District of Idaho.

"Geezer Bandit"/fbi

It appears the California “Geezer Bandit” isn’t about to retire from a life of crime anytime soon.

The FBI says the prolific bandit on Tuesday knocked over his seventh bank since August — this time in Vista, a community in northern San Diego County. The FBI has described him as 60 to 70 years old.

According to authorities, the robber, clad in a blue San Diego Padres baseball cap with a script-style P on it, walked into the California Bank and Trust on Escondido Avenue in Vista at about 9:10 a.m.

The FBI said he waited at a customer kiosk until a teller was available. He then approached with what appeared to be two $20 bills in his hand. The teller, the FBI said, assumed the man wanted change.

But instead he showed the teller a note saying that it was a robbery and that he was armed.

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By Allan Lengel

Baton Rouge U.S. Attorney David R. Dugas, a Bush appointee who took office five weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, announced he is stepping down at the end of the week to join a national law firm with offices in Louisiana.

“Serving as United States Attorney has been the greatest honor and most rewarding experience of my professional career,” Dugas said in a statement. “I have had the privilege of serving alongside dedicated and professional public servants in the United States Attorney’s Office and in the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in this district and across the country. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to President Bush and to President Obama for allowing me to serve the cause of justice in their administrations.”

Duggas noted in his press release that he was appointed Director of the National Center for Disaster Fraud (formerly the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force National Command Center) in December of 2005 “and personally directed the design, creation and operation of the Command Center since its inception.”

Dugas also noted that “he spearheaded the creation of a dedicated FBI Public Corruption squad in Baton Rouge as well as the FBI’s Public Corruption and White Collar Crime Task Force.”

Ex-Rep. Massa/house photo

WASHINGTON — Ex-Congressman Eric Massa of New York who gained nationwide notoriety when it came out that he was seuxally harrassing male staff members — he tickled some — appears to have more problems.

The Washington Post reports that Justice Department and FBI are looking into potential abuses of Massa and his aides.

The Post reported that investigators are honing in on a large payment Massa’s campaign made to an aide and a decision to renew the lease on his personal car just before he announced he would not seek re-election.

In early March, Massa announced he was resigning. The announcement came amid a House ethics probe into allegations he groped and tickled young male staffers, the Post reported.

“The following day, Massa’s campaign paid $40,000 to his chief of staff, Joe Racalto, a key witness in the ethics investigation,” The Post reported.

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OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• Sen. Judiciary Approves 4 U.S. Attorney Nominees (Main Justice)
• Senate Confirms Christopher Schroeder for Justice Dept. Office of  Legal Policy (Main Justice)
• Column: Ex-Gov. Blago Acting Like He’s in a Cowboy Movie (Chicago Tribune)
• Conn. Man in Feud Placed Fake Orgy Ad (AP)
• Blagojevich Brothers to Be Tried Together (AP)
• NJ Man Suspected of Killing Cop Kills Self (AP)
• Virginia Recalls Plate with Apparent Hitler Reference (AP)
• Feds Say Blackwater President had Scofflaw Attitude (AP)
• Underwear Bomber Inspires New Counterterrorism Pursuit Team (Newsweek)

Taking over an agency that is still a work in progress isn’t easy. But apparently she’s getting high marks within the Administration.  Her name also pops up as a candidate for the Supreme Court or for Attorney General should Eric Holder ever leave.

Janet Napolitano/bill maher show

BARCELONA — Janet Napolitano stood near the water’s edge, arms crossed, gazing up at a giant X-ray contraption.

It was a sleepy Saturday in Barcelona, and the city port was deserted. But the secretary of homeland security, who had flown in for a few hours on her way to Nigeria, was confronting this elephantine tangle of metal. This stop was the second on an international tour she launched after an attempted airliner attack on Christmas nearly became the Obama administration’s Sept. 11, 2001.

Surrounded by rows of shipping containers, 42,000 of which are sent to the United States each year, Napolitano quickly summed up the magnitude of her task, which even a machine this large could hardly address.

“Is there only the one scanner for the entire port?” Napolitano asked.

Yes, her guide replied. Napolitano winced.

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