Laslovich departs U.S. Attorney’s Office
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana said on Feb. 18 U. S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich’s “departure,” effective Feb. 17.
Laslovich was nominated for the position by President Joe Biden in January 2022 and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2022, being sworn in on June 2, 2022.
As U.S. Attorney, Laslovich oversaw all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation on behalf of the U.S. government. The district has offices in Great Falls, Helena, Missoula, Butte and Billings.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve as the United States Attorney for the state that raised me. I am profoundly grateful to the talented and hard-working people in this office, as well as our federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners who strive every day to uphold the rule of law, keep people safe, and steadfastly defend the interests of the United States of America. I have never been prouder to have served with them, and I will always be rooting hard for their continued safety and success,” Laslovich said in a release.
The acting U.S. Attorney is Timothy Racicot, who was previously the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, which is the number two position in the district, Clair Howard, spokeswoman for the district told The Electric.
Racicot is based in the Missoula office.
Racicot is a career prosecutor who became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in October 2005. He has served as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney since August 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Racicot received an undergraduate degree from Carroll College and a law degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Howard told The Electric that U.S. attorneys are presidential nominees and “are subject to termination when there is a new administration.”
New Mexico man sentenced for Montana Historical Society theft [2024]
A number of other U.S. attorneys left office on Monday, including the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, Middle District of Florida, District of Maine and the Northern District of New York.
The Washington Post reported last week that the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland had resigned after the White House sent an email on Feb. 12 that terminated the employment of U.S. attorneys across the country who were appointed by Biden or otherwise served under former attorney general Merrick Garland.
In a release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that during Laslovich’s tenure, the office focused on prosecuting drug trafficking and violent and sexual abuse crimes occurring on Montana’s six Indian Reservations that are within federal jurisdiction for major crimes; building strong partnerships with other federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement agencies; addressing violent and firearms crimes in communities across the state through initiatives like Project Safe Neighborhoods and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces; and protecting civil rights for all Montanans. The office continued its work to protect children from online and in person sexual predators, abusers, and traffickers, and to catch fraudsters, especially those who prey on elderly and vulnerable persons.
Great Falls man admits in federal court to distributing meth [2024]
Operation Tacoma Sunrise, a multi-agency operation to dismantle a drug trafficking ring operating in Great Falls, was conducted under Laslovich over the last few years.
Laslovich emphasized the importance of strong working relationships with numerous law enforcement agencies at the local, state, tribal and federal levels, according to a release.
In Indian Country, the U.S. Attorney’s Office worked with tribal and federal law enforcement partners to shut down trafficking rings attempting to set up bases on Montana reservations and enlist residents to distribute drugs transported from outside Montana. One of those cases involved dismantling a large, multi-state drug trafficking organization that was based on Crow Indian Reservation property known as Spear Siding and distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl to three other Montana Indian reservations and communities from suppliers in Washington and a Mexican cartel. The case resulted in federal convictions in Montana of 27 persons and was one of the largest federal drug trafficking investigations in Montana, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Great Falls woman pleads guilty in meth distribution case [2024]
A recent six-month-long enforcement initiative led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, in cooperation with Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Reservation, led to indictments of multiple individuals on drug crimes. The enforcement action was aimed at identifying hot spots and devoting law enforcement resources to communities facing rising rates of drug-related violent crime and overdose deaths, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office release.
While Laslovich was in office, prosecutions of individuals on federal firearms crimes increased significantly averaging 111 case per year from 2022 to 2024, compared with 83 per year from 2014 to 2021.
The number of defendants charged with carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking also increased to an average of 56 cases a year from 2022 to 2024 from an average of 40 cases per year from 2014 to 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Great Falls man sentenced for trafficking meth, fentanyl [2024]
Laslovich oversaw the launch in Montana of United Against Hate, a Justice Department initiative focused on improving the prevention of hate crimes and hate incidents by building relationships at the local level. Laslovich and the office’s civil rights coordinator and prosecutor held a series of community meetings across the state with law enforcement partners, community and faith organizations, tribal communities, and citizens to discuss identifying and reporting hate crimes and to learn about available resources.
The office prosecuted a Basin man on federal hate and firearms crimes after he fired an AK-style assault rifle at the residence of a woman, who identified as lesbian and was home at the time. The defendant was sentenced to 18 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The office’s civil team continued its work, collecting debts owed to the federal government and investigating fraud. As part of that work, the office reached a civil settlement agreement in 2024 between the federal government and St. Peter’s Health in Helena, in which St. Peter’s agreed to pay $10,844,201 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for payments to federal health care programs for services performed by an oncology doctor, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office release.
Great Falls man admits federal charges related to having more than 100 pounds of meth [2024]
Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, Laslovich served as regional vice president for SCL Health Montana-Wyoming from 2017 to 2022.
From 2009 to 2016, Laslovich was chief legal counsel in the office of the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, where he prosecuted securities fraud cases.
From 2011-2012, Laslovich also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney on securities cases in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana. He previously worked in the Montana Attorney General’s Office.
Laslovich began his legal career at Datsopoulos, MacDonald and Lind, P.C. in Missoula and taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Montana School of Law for two semesters.
As one of the youngest Montanans ever elected to the Montana Legislature, Laslovich served in the House of Representatives from 2001 through 2004 and in the Senate from 2005 to 2010, representing Anaconda-Deer Lodge, Granite and Powell counties.
Laslovich received his J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law in 2006 and his B.A., with high honors, from the University of Montana in 2003.
Pingback: Alme appointed interim U.S. attorney for Montana - The Electric