PROVIDENCE, RI - United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch today announced the appointment of Assistant United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus to the position of First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island. Mr. Myrus, an experienced criminal prosecutor and civil litigator, most recently served as Civil Division Chief of the United States Attorney’s Office.
Appointed an Assistant United States Attorney in May 2007, Mr. Myrus has served as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division’s drug, gun and white collar crime units, and as a civil litigator in the office’s Civil Division. Mr. Myrus was named Civil Division Chief in February 2014.
In addition to successfully prosecuting a number of significant drug, firearm, fraud and identity theft cases, Mr. Myrus was co-counsel in an investigation of online search engine Google. The investigation determined that Google’s AdWords program targeted consumers in the United States, resulting in the unlawful importation of controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs into the United States by Canadian online pharmacies. The investigation resulted in a halt to the online advertisements and Google’s forfeiture of $500 million dollars. $240 million dollars of the forfeited funds were distributed to state and local law enforcement agencies in Rhode Island.
Prior to his appointment as an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Myrus was a partner in two Boston law firms specializing in patent litigation and served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
A veteran, Mr. Myrus served in the United States Navy as a helicopter aircraft commander and flight instructor. Mr. Myrus was awarded the United Nations Humanitarian Service medal for the rescue of Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea.
A 1984 graduate of Columbia University and a 1992 graduate of the University of San Diego, Mr. Myrus earned his law degree from Fordham University School of Law in 1995.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
