TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Attorney General Pamela Bondy appointed Gregory Kehoe as interim US attorney for the Central District of Florida on March 31, 2025.
Kehoe worked for the US Department of Justice as a prosecutor in mail in the US, Europe, Asia and South America for more than 20 years.
“The people there are expecting this office and they are looking to deal with certain issues, and their expectations must be well-founded, grounded and met those expectations,” Kehoe said.
The Central Florida region stretches 350 miles from the northeastern Georgia border south of Naples on Florida’s southwest coast. It consists of 12 district judges, 17 senior judges and 17 magistrate judges. The district has five divisions in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando and Tampa.
During Kehoe’s time at the US Lawyer’s Office in the Southern District of Florida, he indicted members of the outlaw motorcycle club.
Kehoe then came to the US Lawyer’s Office in the Central Region of Florida as his first assistant. Kehoe has charged the case with the Credit and Commerce International Bank (BCCI).
According to the Middle District, a two-year undercover investigation in 1988 led to money laundering, drugs and submission of conspiracy charges against 15 individuals.
He also charged many public corruption and drug cases.
In the mid-1990s, Kehoe was detailed in the former Yugoslavian Court of International Law Crimes as a prosecutor for war crimes, trial cases and violations of international humanitarian law.
Kehoe said it had evolved to detail later by the Department of Defense. He led a team of lawyers and investigators advising the Iraq Special Court, an ad hoc court formed to indict Saddam Hussein and his previous government members.
Kehoe has replaced Roger Handberg, who has held that position since 2021. When asked about the transition, Kehoe said he was trying to be seamless and said that ongoing cases were not delayed.
“I think people will tell you that I’m pushing them to get things like this moving faster,” he said. “As long as the case is charged, walked out the door and filed on the public, I don’t think things have changed that much.”
He said priorities for the Central Florida district are priorities for the Department of Justice. A cross-border crime organization that puts people in this community at risk with guns, drugs, humans and child exploitation.
“That doesn’t mean we’re not offensive to fraud,” Kehoe said. “It can be categorized into healthcare fraud issues, all sorts of fraud, that are in the field and that it can be carried out. It’s both civil and criminal.”
When asked about immigration and deportation, Kehoe said there hasn’t rise in prosecutions for illegal entry and deportation of criminals.
Kehoe was ready to return to the office where he once served, but now as an interim US lawyer, he said he had discussed with his wife and daughter, but they all agreed that it would be a good move for him to come back.
“I believe in public services,” he said. “I believe in better things and I think this is why I’m back.”
The Senate must confirm Kehoe’s appointment.
This is his message to the community. “I give it everything. I do my best I can with limited resources, both mentally and physically. That’s what I’m trying to do here. I’m trying to endure my experience.
Kehoe received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College, Summa Cum Laude, and his Law PhD from St. John’s University.
