John-Alex Romano

John Alexander Romano was a trial attorney in the criminal division's fraud section, serving in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit.

He's worked on the investigation into Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, which resulted in a 2016 corporate settlement worth over $100 million and the guilty plea of a former sales executive.

For a while Romano also worked as a trial attorney in the criminal division's appellate section, which advises the department on adverse decisions in district courts and courts of appeals, and prepares briefs and argues cases in the courts of appeals and the US Supreme Court. 

Romano has assisted in a number of high-profile cases during his time in the appellate section. In 2010, he was recognised in the Justice Department's annual awards ceremony for his role in securing the conviction of Liberian warlord Roy Belfast Jr, also known as Chuckie Taylor. The son of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, Belfast's conviction for torture represented the first ever use of a statute that provides US courts with jurisdiction over acts of torture committed outside the country. Heralded as a "groundbreaking case", Romano and a number of other federal prosecutors involved were awarded the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service.

Romano also represented the Justice Department in a 2012 appeal brought by former lobbyist Kevin Ring, an associate of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff who was sentenced to 20 months in prison following the aftermath of the Native American casino lobbying scandal.

Romano argued the department's case in an appeal by former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, whose conviction in 2006 for a domestic bribery scheme some thought to be politically motivated. 

In a separate appeal, Siegelman argued that allegations of prosecutorial misconduct warranted a reprieve from his 78-month prison sentence. Romano oversaw the government's opposition to Siegelman's appeal – first in district court, and then later before the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which in May 2015 upheld the conviction.

Romano received his law degree from Georgetown University. He lives with his wife, Caroline Romano, a chief of staff at the Department of the Interior, and their son, Theodore, in Arlington, Virginia.