Federal Prosecutor Probes Hussein's '30-Year Crime Spree'

A prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office in Richmond is in Iraq, helping document Saddam Hussein's war crimes.

Gregg Nivala told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that "it's like a 30-year crime spree" had taken place there.

Nivala was deployed in April. He's on temporary duty as one of two deputy directors of the civilian Regime Crimes Liaison Office.

The task force of about 25 U.S. Justice Department lawyers and investigators is assigned to advise and assist the special tribunal created to try criminal cases against officials of Saddam's regime.

The lawyers he's supervising primarily are going over interview notes, regime documents and other evidence.

But the liaison office will be excavating and doing forensic work on the mass grave sites the Saddam regime created when it got rid of citizens considered disloyal.

Nivala says 300,000 people are buried in mass graves in Iraq.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.