Hogsett to resign this month as U.S. attorney

Joseph Hogsett, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, plans to resign from the post on July 31, he announced Monday morning.

Democrat Hogsett, 58, has long been the subject of rumored bids for both Indianapolis mayor and U.S. senator. His resignation letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, dated Monday, made no mention of why he decided to step down or his plans after leaving the office.

“In 2010, I accepted the nomination to serve as United States Attorney with the firm belief that this position represented a wonderful opportunity to serve both my country and my community,” Hogsett said. “Today, with the same consideration in mind, I am leaving the office with full confidence that our leadership team will do nothing but continue to build on the enormous progress of the past four years.”

In July 2010, the Rushville native and former Indiana secretary of state was nominated to serve as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. He was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn into office on Oct. 7, 2010.

During his tenure, Hogsett’s office handled several high-profile cases focusing on fraud, including the conviction of Indianapolis financier Tim Durham for a Ponzi scheme that lost some $200 million for mostly mom-and-pop investors in Fair Finance Co.

Earlier this month, his office charged a former official of the Center Township Trustee's Office with theft and embezzlement of federal program funds.

Hogsett had said earlier this year he intended to remain U.S. attorney through the end of his term in 2016. On Monday, a spokesman for Hogsett said he would have no immediate comment on his resignantion beyond the announcement, but that "transition details" would come within a few days.

Republican Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard hasn't yet said whether he'll seek a third term in the 2015 election.

Hogsett's resignation letter outlines several accomplishments that would help position a candidate for a run focusing on law and order and fiscal responsibility.

"We have set new records for the number of defendants charged and the total number of criminal convictions. The office has led the nation in average length of sentences imposed on criminal defendants. Fiscally, average office spending has fallen every year I have served, and is currently at a level not seen since the Bush administration," the letter reads.

Law enforcement has been a hot topic recently in Indianapolis, with an escalating murder rate so far in 2014 and a couple of high-profile shooting incidents in the last 10 days.

Early morning on July 5, two men in Broad Ripple pulled weapons in a skirmish and wounded seven people. On the night of July 5, Indianapolis police officer Perry Renn was shot and killed in a shootout.