Shane P. Harrigan 

In the wake of 9/11, thousands of miles from the attacks on the East Coast, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shane Harrigan supervised dozens of investigations arising from the presence of two of the hijackers in San Diego, including a case involving immigration fraud against one of their close associates.

These efforts are just a few of the milestones in Harrigan’s 37-year career at the Justice Department’s Southern District of California, or SDCA, one of the largest and most complex federal districts in the U.S.

“I don’t know if anybody has seen everything, but he’s probably about as close as I’ve ever seen,” said Peter Ko, Assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California.

In 1987, Harrigan joined the SDCA’s Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section, where he prosecuted investigations involving drug trafficking organizations, including a wiretapping investigation of 12 Colombian cartel members and the prosecution of, and $2 million seizure from, a 20-defendant organization that smuggled nine tons of drugs on a ship from Southeast Asia.

His experience led him to become border crimes section chief, handling countless reactive drug and immigration cases and supervising more than 20 junior assistant U.S. attorneys. As violent crimes task force coordinator, Harrigan prosecuted cases involving everything from the Mexican Mafia and murder-for-hire plots to detention center riots that injured federal officers.

In 2003, Harrigan was appointed criminal division chief, a position so demanding that most tenures last two years. Harrigan served for seven.

“It is the hardest job in the office,” said Cindy Cipriani, executive assistant U.S. attorney for the SDCA. “Every prosecutor is bringing you their thorniest issues. Every indictment is routed through you, and you’re the one to decide what charges are appropriate.”

For the past 15 years at the SDCA’s National Security and Cybercrimes Section, Harrigan has successfully prosecuted cases involving firearms trafficking, Iranian sanctions, ISIS, foreign terrorist organizations, hate crimes and more.

Despite a decades-long career, Harrigan never expected to work as prosecutor, much less shape Justice Department policies or a generation of assistant U.S. attorneys. But after an early internship with the U.S. attorney’s office in Fresno, California, Harrigan knew it was the job for him.

“Every day, I get a chance to do the right thing,” he said. “Whether it’s serving the victims of a violent crime or protecting the community, I can make a little bit of a difference. It’s the most fulfilling job I could have.”