Gov. Tom Wolf Thursday appointed former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania David Barasch as Chairman of the Gaming Control Board.
“David Barasch has over 30 years of public service experience – from law enforcement to consumer protection to government,” Gov. Wolf said. “He would be an asset to any agency and I trust wholeheartedly that he will continue to serve Pennsylvanians with conviction as he has most of his adult life.”
Barasch, 67, served as U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Pennsylvania from 1993 to 2001. During his tenure, his office gained national recognition and received U.S. Department of Justice awards for initiatives in the health care fraud, public corruption, environment injustice, securities fraud, and complex civil litigation fields.
Throughout the 1980’s, Mr. Barasch was the Consumer Advocate for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Once he was appointed to this position by Attorney General Zimmerman, Barasch became directly involved in exemplar cases such as the Three Mile Island nuclear accident and Duquesne Light Co. v. Barasch, which has since been regarded as one of the most significant U.S. Supreme Court utility cases of the last 50 years.
From 1990 to 1993, Barasch served on Gov. Robert Casey’s senior executive staff as Special Assistant to the Governor. In this position, he was the Governor’s advisor on all environmental, public utility, and insurance regulation matters.
Following his time as U.S. Attorney, Barasch served as Executive Deputy Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.
Gov. Wolf had previously asked Barasch to serve on his 2014 Transition Steering Committee and the Susquehanna Township native is currently practicing law in the private sector.
Barasch succeeds William H. Ryan, Jr. as Chair, who as appointed Chair of the Board by Gov. Corbett in 2011 and 2014.
