The Northern District of West Virginia has had a number of excellent U.S. attorneys over the past half-century.

Add outgoing U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld to that list.

Belmont County lies in the Southern District of Ohio, but often cases investigated and tried in the Northern DIstrict of West Virginia have more direct impact on our daily lives.

Ihlenfeld, who served as top prosecutor during the Biden and Obama administrations, stepped down last week. In total, he served as U.S. attorney for 10 years.

“Serving as U.S. Attorney has been an honor and a privilege,” Ihlenfeld said. “I’m deeply saddened to leave, but as I walk out the door today, I do so with tremendous pride because of all this team has accomplished over the past four years. Drug overdoses have decreased, national security has increased, child predators have been locked up, and white-collar criminals have been held to account.”

One of more recent high-profile cases locally was the investigation and sentencing of Jeffrey Morris. His office also focused on drug trafficking, domestic violence, and white-collar crimes, with a special emphasis on health care fraud and COVID fraud.

The list of exceptional U.S. attorneys to serve the Northern District is long — the late James Companion, William Kolibash, William Wilmoth, Sharon Potter, current federal judge Thomas Johnston and others. Ihlenfeld certainly has a place among that group of legal giants.