Acting U.S. attorney for Philadelphia is out

In an abrupt move, interim U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid was replaced yesterday with another interim chief prosecutor for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Magid, a Republican appointee of the second Bush administration, has been overseeing the office since the departure of U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan last summer.

Magid, her spokeswoman, and a Justice Department spokeswoman in Washington all declined to discuss the switch beyond what was stated in a news release issued late yesterday.

Magid will, however, remain in the office, in the appeals division.

Her replacement is Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy, who previously served as an interim U.S. attorney between April and September 2001, the early months of the Bush administration. He was most recently chief of the unit that prosecutes computer and intellectual-property crimes and child exploitation.

Levy's appointment is expected to be approved by the board of judges of U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

Magid, 48, had been set to remain as interim chief at least until next month, when the board of judges was scheduled to approve any interim choice that would hold the office until President Obama makes an official appointment.

Because U.S. attorneys work for the president, the next appointment is expected to be a Democrat.

The office, with about 140 prosecutors, handles federal prosecutions in a nine-county area. The crimes range from white-collar offenses to guns and drugs and public corruption, such as the investigation and successful prosecution of former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, which Magid supervised.

Magid has drawn criticism within the office, which recently was the focus of a Justice Department evaluation.

She drew complaints last year when she tried to fold the Organized Crime Strike Force - a unit within the office with a 20-year record of success against the Philadelphia mob - into a larger unit focusing on drug dealing and gang violence. The Justice Department overruled her and the force remains in place.

In addition, the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General is examining a $250-a-person fund-raiser that was held at her home and hosted by her husband, Jeffrey A. Miller, a well-known caterer.

The fund-raiser was held this year for Meehan, her former boss. A Republican, he has been mulling a run for governor next year. As many as 20 prosecutors from the office were invited.

Magid worked for Meehan when he was district attorney in Delaware County. Prior to that, she served as a prosecutor in Philadelphia for nine years.

People close to her said she had cleared the fund-raiser with the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that provides guidance on activities prohibited by the Hatch Act.

"It has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve as United States attorney and to lead this extraordinary office," Magid said in a statement.

Levy has spent most of his legal career as a federal prosecutor. He spent years with the Organized Crime Strike Force, and is well-regarded by his colleagues in the office and by federal judges.

"We expect that the transition will be seamless and we will continue our daily routine of working for justice," Levy said in a statement. "I want to thank Laurie Magid for her dedicated service and for her gracious assistance in the transition."

Reached by phone, Levy declined to comment yesterday about what led to his appointment.