NEW U.S. ATTORNEY EYES CERTAIN CRIMES

New U.S. Attorney Erik Peterson knew the question was coming, but
laughed and plunged into an answer.

Yes, he's in a rock band with two other prosecutors.

But no, he's not quitting his day job.

Peterson, 36, who is settling into his first weeks as U.S. attorney
for the Western District of Wisconsin after 7 years as Iowa County's
district attorney, moonlights as the drummer for a '70s and '80s
cover band called Alibi, which he said plays a lot of benefit gigs.
His band mates include Brad Schimel, assistant district attorney in
Waukesha County, and Randy Schneider, assistant district attorney in
Racine County. Their lead singer is Heather Zander, community
development director for the city of Brillion.

"I try to keep it quiet," Peterson said. "It's my hobby. My hobby is
getting together to play a little music."

As chief federal prosecutor for the 44-county Western District of
Wisconsin, Peterson's job will be decidedly more serious than the
time he spends behind his drum set. Drugs, terrorism, guns and gangs
will be among the areas of interest his bosses in Washington expect
Peterson to pursue.

He said he also expects to concentrate on the continuation of a
program aimed at prosecuting gun crimes in Beloit, Janesville and
Madison and on curbing methamphetamine production and distribution.
The son of a Lutheran minister, Peterson lived his early life where
his father's jobs took him. He was born in Birmingham, Ala., where he
lived until he was 5 and was once photographed with Green Bay Packers
great Bart Starr, an Alabama native who was opening a car dealership
in town. Peterson was 2 or 3 years old at the time and doesn't
remember the occasion, but the photo is among other Packers pictures
hanging on the wall of his office.

Peterson's family later moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he lived
until he was 13, then to Manitowoc. Peterson attended Manitowoc
Lutheran High School, where his father was principal. He credits his
father's influence as a minister in his choice to pursue law in the
public sector rather than the potentially more lucrative private
sector, he said.

"I was raised to believe in giving back to the community and giving
back to others and that public service is a good thing," Peterson
said. "I believe in making public service a career choice rather than
something I do with free time."

After law school, Peterson worked briefly for a small civil law firm
in Milwaukee, then took a job as an assistant district attorney in
Richland County, where he remained until the end of 1998, when he was
elected district attorney in Iowa County. He held that job until June
6, when he started work as U.S. attorney.

Peterson, a Republican, was appointed by President Bush and confirmed
by the U.S. Senate, after recommendations for three finalists were
made by the Federal Nominating Commission, U.S. Senators Russ
Feingold, D-Wis., and Herb Kohl, d-Wis., and U.S. Rep. James
Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls. Peterson takes the post vacated by
J.B. Van Hollen, who left to run for state attorney general.

As Iowa County district attorney, Peterson said he was proud of
having increased the caseload handled by his office while remaining
within its budget. He also helped establish a cooperative effort with
law enforcement to curb school truancy and worked with police and
fire officials to establish the Iowa County Fire Investigation Team
to educate firefighters about arson investigations.

Peterson, who is single, said he isn't sure if he'll continue to
commute from Iowa County or move to Madison. In his new job, Peterson
said he is looking forward to having a "broader reach, not to serve
just one county, but to serve all of the counties in the Western
District of Wisconsin, to have a greater impact."

With a staff of 22 lawyers, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Madison
handles the prosecution of federal crimes that occur in the state's
western 44 counties. It also represents the federal government in
civil matters.

"I truly believe it's an honor and a privilege to serve in this
capacity," Peterson said. He smiled and acknowledged the sentiment
sounds clich . "I really do feel that way."

The U.S. Department of Justice in Washington sets many of the
priorities for U.S. attorneys, including terrorism, drugs, gangs,
violent crime, cyber crime, child pornography, public and corporate
corruption and guns.

Districts can also focus on areas of local interest. Peterson said
that here, those include Project Safe Neighborhood, a national
program to encourage cooperation between state, local and federal law
enforcement that has been adapted to address gun crimes in Beloit,
Janesville and Madison.

Peterson said the office also will concentrate on prosecuting
methamphetamine production, which is a much larger problem along
Wisconsin's western border in areas such as St. Croix County than it
is closer to Madison. As district attorney, Peterson didn't appear to
have any particular agenda in terms of the crimes he prosecuted, said
veteran Dodgeville defense attorney Gregg Waterman.

Waterman, who faced Peterson over the past 10 years both in Richland
and Iowa counties, said that as a prosecutor, Peterson is "thorough
and aggressive," a hard worker who wants to succeed.

Waterman was somewhat surprised that Peterson was appointed U.S.
attorney because he had never thought of Peterson as a particularly
political person.

"He doesn't strike me as a politician as much as other lawyers here,"
Waterman said. "At the same time, I think that Erik is highly
ambitious. He's young, he has fire in his belly. I don't mean that in
a bad way."

Madison attorney Ron Benavides, who squared off against Peterson
while defending Greg Tallard in a first-degree murder case last
summer, said he found Peterson to be very courteous, very
professional and easy to work with in a difficult case.

Tallard, 35, of Rewey, was convicted in June 2005 of killing Robert
Delahanty about a year earlier. Tallard, now serving a life sentence,
testified during the trial that voices told him to kill Delahanty, a
48- year-old Platteville businessman.

"I wouldn't have any reservations about his ability in the courtroom
or to do well in the (U.S. attorney's) office," Benavides said. He
said he hopes to get a chance to try a case against Peterson in
federal court, where Benavides also practices.

Peterson said he does plan to get to court during his tenure.

"My plan is to handle a few cases as my schedule allows," he said.