FARGO, N.D. (AP) A longtime prosecutor who has handled several high-profile cases is the new supervisor of the U.S. attorney's office in North Dakota.
Chris Myers took over Friday as acting U.S. attorney. He replaces Timothy Purdon, who left to open an office in Bismarck for a private Minneapolis-based law firm.
Myers has been an assistant U.S. attorney since 2002. Before that he was a prosecutor in Cass County, North Dakota, and Clay County, Minnesota. He also worked as a special agent for the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The 46-year-old Myers won a national award last year for the office with his handling of a synthetic drug case called ``Operation Stolen Youth.'' He says one of the greatest challenges for his office is tackling organized crime in the oil patch.