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PHOENIX (AP) – President Joe Biden has elected a professional attorney to be the top federal law enforcement officer in Arizona.
The president announced on Wednesday that he has elected Gary M. Restaino as US attorney for Arizona. Restaino has been a federal attorney in Arizona since 2003, previously serving as chief of the criminal and white-collar crime departments.
Restaino has also served as a trial attorney for the Department of Public Integrity at the Department of Justice.
He worked on some of the most iconic cases in Arizona of the past decade, including prosecuting former Fiesta Bowl executives under a scheme to make illegal campaign contributions to politicians. He was also among the lawyers who successfully prosecuted former US MP Rick Renzi for extortion and bribery in connection with a state land swap. Renzi, a Republican, was later pardoned on his last day in office by President Donald Trump.
Prior to joining the US Attorney’s Office, Restaino was a civil rights attorney with the Arizona Attorney General, representing farm workers for a Phoenix-based legal aid service. He also served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay.
Restaino must be approved by the Senate before he can take on the role. The US attorney’s office in Arizona has been headed by Glenn McCormack, the first US assistant attorney, since April.
Restaino, a 1996 University of Virginia law school graduate, was among four US attorneys announced on Wednesday.
