Messages being sent everywhere, the new war on drugs is starting and it’s going to ugly especially if US supply chains get affected..
A career prosecutor with 15 years of experience in the U.S. Attorney’s Office has been appointed as the first assistant U.S. attorney.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the appointment of Katherine Ferguson on Jan. 23.
Ferguson has been deputy chief of the office’s narcotics and money laundering unit since 2017 and lead task force attorney for the district’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force since 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In her time as a federal prosecutor, Ferguson has had extensive experience working with other federal and state law enforcement “to dismantle multi-jurisdictional and international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations,” the office said.
Foley, who was named interim U.S. attorney on Jan. 20, also spent time as deputy chief of the narcotics and money laundering unit and was lead attorney for the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force.
President Donald Trump has made illegal drugs an early focus in his second term. On his first day in office, he issued an executive order seeking to define some drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ferguson was an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County. She was a law clerk to 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sandra L. Lynch from 2006 to 2007.
BOSTON – United States Attorney Leah B. Foley has announced that Katherine Ferguson has been appointed to serve as First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Ms. Ferguson, a career prosecutor, has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for more than a decade.
“Ms. Ferguson’s leadership, dedication, and prosecutorial excellence have earned her widespread respect within our office and beyond,” said U.S. Attorney Foley. “Her deep understanding of federal law enforcement and her commitment to upholding the rule of law make her an invaluable asset. I am confident that she will bring the same integrity and vision to her new role as First Assistant U.S. Attorney as she has throughout her career.”
Ms. Ferguson has served as Deputy Chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2017 and Lead Task Force Attorney for the District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force since 2021. As Deputy Chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit, Ms. Ferguson was responsible for overseeing federal narcotics and money laundering investigations and prosecutions. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney for 15 years, she has extensive experience working collaboratively with other federal, state and local partners to dismantle multi-jurisdictional and international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Ferguson served as an Assistant District Attorney for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. There, she handled over 600 cases in Boston Municipal Court from arraignment to disposition and oversaw the prosecution of child abuse and narcotics offenses in Superior Court. From 2006-2007, Ms. Ferguson served as a law clerk for the Honorable Sandra L. Lynch with the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. Ferguson graduated from Princeton University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics with Highest Honors, Phi Beta Kappa. While at Princeton, Ms. Ferguson earned Certificates in Political Economy and French Language & Culture. She also received a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an Executive Editor for the Harvard Law Review.
