Latina confirmed as Massachusetts U.S. Attorney

Ortiz confirmed as state’s first Hispanic U.S. attorney
By Associated Press, November 7, 2009

Carmen Ortiz has been confirmed as the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, becoming the first Hispanic and the first woman to hold the top federal prosecutor’s job in the state.

Ortiz, an assistant U.S. attorney who prosecutes white-collar crime, was nominated by President Obama in September and confirmed by the U.S. Senate late Thursday. She succeeds Michael Sullivan, who was appointed by President Bush in 2001.

The New York native worked as an assistant U.S. attorney handling white-color crime for the past 12 years and was previously a Middlesex prosecutor and a defense attorney. In 1992, Ortiz was a member of the “October Surprise” team for the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which found no basis for allegations that the 1980 Reagan campaign tried to delay the release of hostages in Iran to undermine President Carter’s re-election. Ortiz also helped investigate allegations of sexual harassment made by a Boston Herald sports writer against the New England Patriots [team stats] in 1990.