PHOENIX - Attorney General Mark Brnovich is proud to announce Assistant Attorneys General Brett Harames and Nicholas Saccone have received two major awards for their outstanding work prosecuting major drug cases in Arizona.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Harames was awarded 2017 Prosecutor of the Year by the Arizona Narcotics Officer Association ("ANOA"). ANOA serves over 500 local, county, and state law enforcement officers and prosecutors. Harames has become an integral part of the Phoenix Police Department’s Drug Enforcement Bureau. Through his hard work and tenacity, Harames has been the key to dozens of successful prosecutions involving opioids and other narcotics in Arizona.
Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Saccone was awarded 2017 Outstanding Prosecutor by the Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area ("HIDTA"). HIDTA coordinates and supports 800 full-time federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers and prosecutors. Saccone is responsible for prosecuting drugs cases involving meth labs, desert scout busts, stash houses, search warrant executions, and illegal marijuana grows.
In 2015, Saccone worked with Phoenix Police to prosecute the largest illegal indoor marijuana grow in Arizona history. The case involved fraudulent use of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act ("AMMA"). Saccone developed a way to obtain necessary information from the Arizona Department of Health Services ("DHS"), which regulates the AMMA. Prior to this investigation, obtaining records from DHS was a difficult and lengthy process. Through their collaborative efforts, Phoenix Police and Saccone developed a search warrant that would allow access to DHS documents while meeting the technical requirements of the AMMA.
“We’ve assembled a top-notch team at the Attorney General’s Office," said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. I’m incredibly proud of our dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division who have stepped up to become integral components of law enforcement efforts to disrupt dangerous criminal drug networks.”