Heffelfinger quits as U.S. attorney

When Tom Heffelfinger was named U.S. attorney for Minnesota in 2001, he said he planned to concentrate on white-collar crime, narcotics, firearms, civil rights and Indian affairs.

Terrorism wasn't on his list. By his first day on the job just after the Sept. 11 attacks, it had leaped to the top. And it stayed there.

"Other types of crime didn't go away, but terrorism immediately became a new priority," Heffelfinger said Tuesday.

Heffelfinger, 58, announced Tuesday that he would resign Feb. 28 and return to private practice.

"There's never a good time to quit as U.S. attorney because there's always new crimes, new cases," he said. "It's an entirely personal reason, balancing the best needs of the office and the best needs of my family."

He declined to discuss the reason specifically, beyond saying financial considerations were part of it.

"Being in government service has meant my family has made sacrifices," he said.

Heffelfinger plans to return to the Best & Flanagan law firm, where he was a partner, concentrating on Indian law, general litigation and internal corporate investigations.

Politics is not in his future. "Been there, done that," he said, referring to his failed run for Hennepin County attorney in 1986.

The tenure that ends in two weeks is Heffelfinger's second stint in the job as the state's chief federal law enforcement officer, a rare feat. A Republican, Heffelfinger had spent about 1½ years in the position from late 1991 to 1993, nominated by President George H.W. Bush.

On the terrorism front, his office's two highest-profile cases are still in process. Minneapolis student Mohammed A. Warsame has been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Al-Qaida, and Mohamad Elzahabi of Minneapolis has been charged with lying to federal agents investigating the shipment of electronics to Pakistan.

Although confessed Al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was arrested in Minnesota, his case was not primarily handled by Heffelfinger's office.

"The terrorism work wasn't just prosecutions -- it meant outreach, to communities like Somalis and Arab-Americans, who need to feel their rights are protected," Heffelfinger said. "We need to do our job without scaring the bejesus out of people."

Indian affairs focus

One of the targets on Heffelfinger's original to-do list -- Indian affairs -- dovetailed with his expertise while in private practice, but played out in a wholly unexpected way last year after the shootings at Red Lake High School.

With Heffelfinger's office responsible for all crimes that occur on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, it fell to him to prosecute Louis Jourdain, the only person charged in the case.

The teen pleaded guilty in November to sending threatening messages and was sentenced last month to spend up to a year at a private juvenile rehabilitation facility.

Francis (Chunky) Brun, whose son Derrick was a security guard killed at the school, said he was frustrated by the difficulty of getting information about the shootings. But he blamed the process, not Heffelfinger.

"I'll never erase that from my mind as far as the proceedings and the victims having little or nor recourse to find out the truth, which we still don't know," Brun said.

Michael Tabman, the head of Minneapolis' FBI office for the past year, said Red Lake was the first time he and Heffelfinger were thrust together. It was an intense situation in which they quickly learned about each other personally and professionally, he said.

"Red Lake will define both of our careers," Tabman said. "Emotions were running high, and there were physical demands on all of us. But his caring showed through."

Former U.S. Attorney David Lillehaug praised Heffelfinger for his commitment to Red Lake, which started during his first term in the 1990s.

"If there was a right person to respond to the Red Lake tragedy, he was that person," Lillehaug said.

Heffelfinger also served on a committee that advises the U.S. attorney general's office on issues that affect Indian communities nationwide. And he helped develop the Family Advocacy Center of Northern Minnesota, which tries to address family violence issues, particularly among the region's Indians.

Notable among other crimes that drew Heffelfinger's attention was the explosion of methamphetamine use and the gang violence associated with it, Heffelfinger said. Meth cases now represent nearly 60 percent of the drug cases prosecuted by his office.

White-collar crime, too, represented a large part of his office's workload. Among the cases were the prosecutions of three members of the Minneapolis City Council, two of whom served time in prison after pleading guilty to corruption-related charges. The other hasn't yet faced trial.

Who's next?

Heffelfinger said it's likely an interim U.S. attorney will be chosen by the U.S. attorney general's office from within his current staff.

Sen. Norm Coleman's office will identify at least three candidates to replace him, a nominating process that takes six to nine months, Heffelfinger said.

Coleman's communications chief, Tom Steward, said Coleman expects the White House "to rely certainly on the senator's judgment for a major appointment."

In legal circles, names were already being mentioned as possible contenders for the job, including three former assistant U.S. attorneys, Jon Hopeman, Rick Morgan and Doug Kelley, all now in private practice.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Paulsen, who is handling the Ronald Reed trial in Ramsey County, and Hank Shea have also been mentioned.

Staff writers Margaret Zack, David Chanen, Greg Gordon and Terry Collins contributed to this report. Bob von Sternberg • 612-673-7184