Former U.S. attorney reflects on achievements

FLORENCE - Despite the criticism she received from detractors, Alice Martin said she is pleased with her accomplishments during her eight-year tenure as U.S. attorney for the northern district of Alabama.

Appointed to the position in 2001 by President George W. Bush, Martin resigned June 19. Her successor, interim U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.

Martin said that during her term she focused on assessing the needs of the district and carrying out the president's directives.

Those directives included implementing anti-terrorism measures.

"We contacted all local and state law enforcement agencies and opened up clear and faster lines of communication and intelligence," she said.

Martin implemented Alabama ICE, a program based on Bush's Project Safe Neighborhoods, which was geared toward the prosecution of individuals who were illegally in possession of firearms.

She said her office successfully prosecuted more than 1,250 people, mostly convicted felons, for unlawful possession of firearms.

"The average term of incarceration was five years with no possibility of parole," Martin said.

Project Safe Childhood focused on child exploitation crimes, including interstate travel for the purpose of having sexual relations with minors and the production and distribution of child pornography.

Martin's office led the country one year in the prosecution of child pornography cases and brought the first successful prosecution of a child modeling Web site.

Martin's office aggressively pursued two priorities important to state and local law enforcement: the production and sale of methamphetamine and public corruption.

"We led the nation in 2004 in having the most corporate fraud convictions," Martin said, adding that the state moved from 54th to third among 94 district attorney offices in prosecuting public corruption cases.

Cases of corporate fraud included criminal charges against three HealthSouth officers and an official with the Birmingham-based Just For Feet shoe store chain.

Martin's office also brought criminal cases against three Alabama legislators and a conviction against former Gov. Don Siegelman.

One of the most memorable cases was the prosecution of Olympic Park Bomber Eric Robert Rudolph, who pleaded guilty to numerous criminal charges for a series of bombings across the south, including the deadly 1996 Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and the 1998 bombing of a Birmingham women's clinic.

Closer to home, Martin successfully prosecuted former Franklin County District Attorney John Pilati, who was convicted of depriving five men of their civil rights and sentenced to 42 months in prison.

Martin said she expects Vance, to continue the work she started, including the prosecution of several Birmingham public officials.

When she was appointed to the office, nobody was prosecuting and no one wanted to prosecute public corruption cases, she said.

"Now there is a dedicated unit," Martin said. "The work has always been there. The focus of doing the work has not been there."

She uses the example of the corruption that was uncovered in the state's two-year college system that resulted in former Chancellor Roy Johnson pleading guilty to federal bribery charges.

"When you see that type of graft and cronyism, when money is tight, it needs to be continually addressed," Martin said.

Florence Police Chief Rick Singleton said his department and likely others in the state were assisted by Martin's aggressive stance on ICE cases.

"There were a number of cases where we solicited their support as far as prosecution under federal gun laws," Singleton said. "The U.S. attorney's office under her leadership did an outstanding job working with us."

Singleton said Martin also instituted a leadership academy for training assistant U.S. attorneys and law enforcement officers. He said several Florence police lieutenants and captains participated in the program, which gave them opportunities to network with and learn what they need to do to help build a federal criminal case.

"It was a tremendous benefit to us," Singleton said.

Martin credits her staff for the successful prosecutions that took place during her eight-year tenure.

She has "categorically denied" that she will seek any public office.

"I'm taking my first summer off in 29 years in office," Martin said. "There will be a public announcement of my next adventure inSeptember."

Staff Writer Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.