The Fresno Bee reports that new U.S. Attorney Ben Wanger has announced he intends to hire two new white-collar prosecutors for the Fresno office, moving one position from Sacramento.
Besides cracking down on mortgage fraud and placing an increasing emphasis on white-collar crimes, Wagner said other areas will look familiar.
For instance, child pornography. Wagner said "a steady flow of those cases" will continue.
Asked about marijuana, Wagner responded that possession remains a federal crime. He said Attorney General Eric Holder's comment that federal agents would stop raiding medical marijuana distributors that comply with their state laws "does not change underlying law."
Wagner said he plans to aggressively pursue marijuana growing operations on mountain lands, which he called a "menace" that are backed by organized crime and have armed individuals on site.
But federal authorities will move more cautiously on local dispensaries, which have made news recently as local cities look to stem their spread. Wagner said he plans to be "careful on how we spend limited prosecution resources" on medical marijuana cases.
He also wants to focus immigration prosecutions on those who commit violent crimes. Conversely, he said he wants to protect workers in the country who may be the victims of exploitation.