[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 13, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN RECOGNITION OF ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY CHARLES LEWIS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FILEMON VELA

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 13, 2015

  Mr. VELA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Assistant United 
States Attorney Charles Lewis and to honor his more than four decades 
of federal service.
   In 1973, Charlie began his career as a law clerk to the Honorable 
Reynaldo Garza in Brownsville, Texas. After completing his clerkship, 
he joined the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District 
of Texas.
   Throughout his career, Charlie distinguished himself as a tough and 
ethical prosecutor who passionately represented the United States in 
federal court.
   Charlie's career included positions as Assistant Director of the 
Attorney General's Advocacy Institute in charge of training federal 
prosecutors in criminal prosecutions; Coordinator of the Presidential 
Drug Taskforce for the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi; 
Coordinator of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) 
Houston division; Resident Legal Advisor to the U.S. Embassy in 
Bucharest, Romania; and Prosecutor Representative for the anti-
terrorism advisory committee in Brownsville, Texas.
   Charlie's dedication to the prosecution of organized crime and drug 
trafficking resulted in seizures of tens of millions of dollars of 
currency and property and the convictions of many large-scale narcotics 
traffickers and corrupt public officials.
   Many of Charlie's cases included investigations in multiple 
countries across numerous federal investigative agencies, and took 
years to develop and prosecute. Charlie was particularly good at 
explaining complex cases to federal juries and applying the Racketeer 
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
   Charlie is particularly proud of the three years he spent in 
Bucharest, Romania where he helped reform the Romanian legal system and 
served as the U.S. representative to the Southeast European Cooperative 
Initiative (now known as the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center) 
which provides support to member states to combat transnational 
organized crime and corruption.
   Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to honor Charles Lewis 
and his more than four decades of public service to the United States. 
I join my colleagues in Congress in wishing him and Mary, his wife of 
more than 30 years, the best.

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