At an investiture ceremony held at the Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse yesterday afternoon in downtown Tampa, Judge Steven D. Merryday of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida administered the Oath of Office for the United States Attorney to A. Lee Bentley, III. He serves as the eighteenth United States Attorney for the district.
The formal ceremony, over which Judge Merryday presided, was attended by scores of family members, friends, and colleagues, as well as federal, state, and local dignitaries. Guest speakers included former United States Attorneys Robert E. O’Neill and A. Brian Albritton. The invocation and the benediction were given by the Reverend Roger Scholtz, Senior Pastor, Hyde Park Methodist Church. Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Deputy Clerk James O. Gordon sang the national anthem.
Other honored guests attending included United States Attorney Loretta A. Lynch from the Eastern District of New York, former United States Attorney Donna A. Bucella, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
United States Attorney Bentley was appointed to his post by President Barack Obama upon the recommendation of Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio. He has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Middle District of Florida since 2000, most recently serving as the First Assistant to United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill. Prior to that, he worked at the law firm of Hogan & Hartson in Washington, DC as an associate and a partner. Mr. Bentley also has served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Florida (Miami), an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.), a law clerk to Honorable Lewis F. Powell, Jr., United States Supreme Court, and a law clerk to Honorable Clement F. Haynsworth, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
United States Attorney Bentley oversees one of the largest United States Attorney’s Offices in the country, having prosecutorial responsibility over 35 counties in Florida, stretching more than 350 miles, with a population of more than 11 million. He leads five staffed offices with more than 230 employees, including approximately 117 attorneys.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
