U.S. Attorney David Capp resigns
Post-Tribune
March 12, 2017
U.S. Attorney David Capp resigned Saturday from his position as northern Indiana's top prosecutor.
Capp, who has worked in the U.S. Attorney's office for more than 30 years, submitted his resignation per the request of President Donald Trump's administration, even though he planned to retire in June, according to a press release. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday sought resignations for the U.S. attorneys appointed under former President Barack Obama, the Associated Press reported.
"It has been my greatest honor and privilege to serve all these years. The work we do in the United States Attorney's office has such an important positive impact on the citizens of northern Indiana," Capp said, in a statement.
President Barack Obama appointed Capp as U.S. attorney in 2009, though he had served as the office's interim chief since 2007 when former President George W. Bush tapped Van Bokkelen as a federal judge.
Capp, during his tenure with the federal prosecutor's office, took a hard stance again public corruption in the area. Serving under former U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen, now a federal judge, Capp led major efforts to stop corruption, including Operation Lights Out and Operation Restore Public Integrity.
Under Capp, federal prosecutors recently leveled charges against Lake County Sheriff John Buncich and Portage Mayor James Snyder. Last year, his office successfully prosecuted former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist and Soderquist's wife, Deborah.
As Capp, who joined the U.S. Attorney's office in 1885, announced charges against Buncich and Snyder in November, he issued a stern warning to other officials engaged in corrupt practices:
"You know who you are and we know, currently, who some of you are," Capp said. "And we are coming after you."
"And if any of you want to try to help yourself, time is running short," Capp said.
Aside from his crusade against public corruption, Capp also focused on fighting gang- and drug-related crime in Northwest Indiana.
"Some years ago I spoke one evening at a church in Gary.We had just made some arrests and closed down a drug operation in the neighborhood the church served," Capp said, in a statement. "Afterwards a gentleman came up to me, shook my hand, thanked me for our efforts and told me 'now my grandchildren can play in the yard again.'"
"That has always stuck with me and kept me focused on what our work is really about," Capp added."I hope that I have played a part in making more yards in the Northern District of Indiana safe for 'grandchildren to play in."
Capp is a 1968 graduate of Lew Wallace High School in Gary and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, according to his official biography. He received his law degree from Valparaiso University and was in private practice law for eight years, according to his official biography.
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