U.S. Attorney's office
In 1985, Marra joined the office of the
United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey as an assistant U.S. Attorney. He worked in the Special Prosecutions Division, focusing on the investigation and prosecution of public corruption. From 1997 to 2002 he served as senior litigation counsel. Marra prosecuted former
Newark Mayor
Kenneth A. Gibson and two associates on federal bribery charges. Gibson pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2002. In 2002, United States Attorney
Christopher J. Christie named Marra as his first assistant. Marra continued as first assistant U.S. Attorney until December 1, 2008, when Christie resigned to pursue the
Republican nomination for
Governor of New Jersey. Marra became Acting U.S. Attorney upon Christie's resignation, serving until a permanent replacement was selected by President
Barack Obama. Fishman was sworn into office on October 14, 2009.
Operation Bid Rig On July 23, 2009, Marra announced the arrests of 44 people, including several high-profile New Jersey elected officials, as part of
Operation Bid Rig, a major
sting operation stemming from a two-year investigation into
money laundering and
political corruption. On August 18, the
Associated Press reported that Marra was facing an internal
Justice Department investigation for his public comments at the time of the arrests, in order to determine if his comments could be construed as an implicit endorsement of Christie's gubernatorial candidacy. ==Christie administration==