2011 Annual Report - Virginia Attorney General

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2011 REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Community Defined Solutions
Funded by the Community Defined Solutions to Violence Against Women Grant,
a coordinator is responsible for developing, implementing, and facilitating training for
prosecutors and law enforcement officers on domestic and sexual violence issues.
The coordinator participates in a partnership with six government and non-profit
agencies to improve practice and policy related to criminal justice and advocacy
response to domestic violence. In December 2011, the partnership conducted an
Advanced Coordinated Community Response and Leadership Institute to provide
leadership-focused training and support to ten coordinated community response teams
across Virginia. Each team included a representative from the following disciplines:
prosecutors, courts, law enforcement and advocacy, to promote a multi-disciplinary
response to domestic and sexual violence cases and their victims.
In addition to training, the Office brings awareness to the issues of domestic and
sexual violence and their impact on victims. In April 2011, the OAG hosted a public
awareness event for Sexual Violence Awareness Month to honor child victims of
sexual abuse. The event included a collection drive from the OAG staff for Operation
Fuzzy to complete 80 comfort kits for children who undergo forensic or sexual assault
examinations in hospitals across Virginia. In October, as part of Domestic Violence
Awareness Month, the OAG hosted an event, featuring a domestic violence survivor
speaker, to honor survivors of domestic violence
Tobacco Enforcement Unit
The Tobacco Enforcement Unit administers and enforces the Tobacco Master
Settlement Agreement (MSA), a 1998 agreement between the states and leading
cigarette manufacturers. In that effort, the Unit works with the Tobacco Project of the
National Association of Attorneys General as well as other MSA states. During 2011,
the Commonwealth received more than $115 million in payments from the
participating manufacturers. These funds are used to support medical treatment for
low-income Virginians, to stimulate economic development in former tobacco
growing areas, and to establish programs to deter youth smoking and prevent
childhood obesity.
The Unit also maintains the Virginia Tobacco Directory, which lists tobacco
product manufacturers that have been certified as compliant with Virginia law, and
collects information on cigarette stamping activity throughout the Commonwealth.
The Unit enforces the MSA’s implementing legislation through review, analysis and
investigation of manufacturer applications to sell cigarettes in the Commonwealth,
investigation of alleged violations of law, representation of the Commonwealth in
actions under the Virginia Tobacco Escrow Statute, audits of Tax Stamping Agents,
retail inspections, seizures of contraband products, and participation on law
enforcement task forces with other federal, state, and local agencies. Specifically in
2011, the Unit investigated 109 persons or entities, certified 31 cigarette
manufacturers as compliant with Virginia law, allowed 4 manufacturers to be
voluntarily removed from the tobacco directory, and removed 2 companies from the
tobacco directory. Representatives from the Unit also worked closely with the
Financial Crimes Intelligence Center as they sought to identify, investigate, and
prosecute individuals engaged in trafficking of contraband cigarettes. The Unit’s
efforts at diligently enforcing Virginia’s statutes related to contraband and counterfeit
cigarettes was bolstered by the addition of three new full-time employees - a second