2008 Finalists—Justice and Law Enforcement
This award will recognize a federal employee for a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to justice and law enforcement (including civil rights, criminal justice, counterterrorism, and fraud detection and prevention). This medal is accompanied by a $3,000 award.
Bobbi Bernstein and Alex Bustamante
Position: Deputy Chief, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section (Bernstein) and Assistant U.S. Attorney (Bustamante)
Agency: Department of Justice
Location: Washington, D.C. (Bernstein) and Los Angeles, California (Bustamante)
Residence: Annandale, Virginia (Bernstein) and Pasadena, California (Bustamante)
Achievement: Successfully prosecuted United States v. Saldana, which resulted in the conviction of four murderers and marked the first time the federal hate crime statutes have been used to combat racial violence committed by members of a street gang
Scott Hutchison, Steven Zerebecki and Team
Position: Senior Analysts, Office of Evaluation and Inspections, Region IX
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General
Location: San Francisco, California
Residence: San Francisco, California
Achievement: Identified more than $2 billion in aberrant Medicare claims and created a model for reducing fraud in the program
James “Patrick” McCreary and the BJA's Justice Information Sharing Team
Position: Associate Deputy Director for Policy
Agency: Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
Location: Washington, D.C.
Residence: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Achievement: Developed the capability to connect law enforcement databases, with broad information sharing uses that include improving Amber Alerts and supporting the National Sex Offender Public Registry
Mark Pletcher
Position: Trial Attorney
Agency: Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, National Criminal Enforcement Section
Location: Washington, D.C.
Residence: Silver Spring, Maryland
Achievement: Leading efforts to stop bid-rigging, fraud and corruption involving U.S. officials and defense contractors in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan
The Service to America Medals are presented annually by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service to celebrate excellence in our federal civil service.
