DUBLIN, March 18, 2008 (AP): A former top Justice Department official and federal prosecutor who helped put an Ohio congressman behind bars has been hired by health care products and services company Cardinal Health Inc.

Craig Morford, 49, left his position as the Justice Department's No. 2 official earlier this month. At Cardinal Health, he'll oversee compliance on regulatory, environmental health and safety issues.

``He brings deep expertise with regulatory agencies, a strong compliance background and a reputation for upholding the highest standards of ethics and integrity,'' Cardinal chief executive officer R. Kerry Clark said in a statement.

Morford was appointed acting deputy U.S. attorney general last year by President Bush. He left after the Senate voted on March 3 to confirm former federal judge Mark R. Filip for the post.

The suburban Columbus-based Cardinal Health said Morford will join Cardinal Health on May 5. Daniel Walsh, who created the company's ethics and compliance department, will leave the company.

Morford is a career prosecutor who pursued organized crime and public corruption in Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee for 20 years.

As an assistant U.S. attorney based in Cleveland, Morford led the case against Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Traficant of Youngstown. Traficant was convicted in 2002 of accepting bribes and gifts from businessmen in exchange for intervening with government agencies.

Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com