By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
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.”
