FARGO (KVRR KFGO) – The only person nominated twice as North Dakota’s chief federal prosecutor has officially stepped down.
Wrigley’s highest-profile case was the 2006 prosecution of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., who remains on death row for the murder of Dru Sjodin.
Wrigley was asked about President Biden’s plans to possibly place a moratorium on federal executions.
“I start off from a point of faith that they’re, that they’re making their assessments in good faith. That they’re going to look at all of the arguments and all the consideration and I don’t have any reason to believe that they’re not making those decisions in good faith, just like we made the decision in good faith to seek the death penalty.”
Recently, Wrigley had been overseeing the prosecution of dozens of people in connection with a massive drug operation that’s moving millions of dollars in hydrocodone to North Dakota Indian Reservations.
“These are life-threatening pills to begin with, and then you got a quarter of a million dollars worth of them, then you got sitting in the middle of Bismarck with a quarter of a million dollars worth of narcotics, 60-70,000 dollars of cash, then you have a firearm to boot. He’s going to protect that quarter of a million dollars with of narcotics if he has to and that’s before you add the human toll of those pills are going to somebody.”
Wrigley’s top-secret clearance allowed him access to national security matters. The FBI once said that spies are trying to steal trade secrets in North Dakota’s oil patch. Wrigley acknowledged that the oil patch, along with the state’s research universities and military assets are vulnerable targets.
Wrigley says the threats come from both domestic and foreign sources.
“We have targets for all sorts of types of activities, imagine if other countries or entities can steal and extract that information that they put no money into developing but then they get that. It’s like someone hands you a Lamborghini tomorrow and you didn’t have to pay for it.”
Wrigley says for now, he is still deciding on what he plans to do next.