BOSTON — U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz announced Wednesday she is stepping down from her position.
Ortiz currently serves the District of Massachusetts and has worked for 19 years as a federal prosecutor. She is the first women and first Hispanic to service as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
Under her tenure, the U.S. Attorney's office convicted former Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi, mobster James "Whitey" Bulger and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
"As I look ahead, I hope that my time in this office will reflect the many challenges and the vast and diverse caseload that I have overseen during the past seven years, from prosecuting violent crime and public corruption, to enforcing civil rights, to our broad reach into local faith communities, schools and neighborhoods," Ortiz said in a statement.
Oritz was a state prosecutor in Middlesex County for a period of time; she also worked as a private attorney for several years, which included representing the NFL when a sportswriter made allegations of sexual harassment against the New England Patriots.
Ortiz studied at Adelphi University and from George Washing University Law School.
Her last day is Jan. 13, 2017.