The following is an edited release from the office of Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter:

District Attorney Sam Sutter on Wednesday announced the formation of a new unit within his office to deal with the fallout from the scandal at the Jamaica Plain Drug Lab, which will potentially affect more than 4,000 Bristol County drug cases.

The new unit will be headed by Assistant District Attorney Patrick O. Bomberg. He has led numerous high-profile investigations at the district attorney's office—ranging from unsolved homicides to police-involved shootings and other special investigations. 

Bomberg served as a Plymouth County assistant district attorney from 1995 through the end of 2003, rising from a District Court prosecutor to a Superior Court prosecutor who co-founded Plymouth County's Cold Case Unit. After working in private practice for three years, Bomberg was hired by Sutter in January 2007.

Assisting Bomberg will be Assistant District Attorney Robert Kidd, a Homicide Unit prosecutor at Sutter's office. Prior to joining the district attorney's office in 2007, Kidd operated a private law practice in Taunton from 1990 through 2006. Kidd has handled criminal matters in district and superior courts throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.

The unit will also include two appellate unit attorneys, a district court supervisor and an administrative assistant.

"On the eve of the first Superior Court special session, I am pleased to announce the initial steps in the formation of the unit which will have to deal with the anticipated reopening of hundreds to thousands of disposed drug cases," Sutter said. "With Pat Bomberg and Robert Kidd at the helm, we will have two talented, experienced and proven prosecutors directing our handling of all of these cases."

He continued, "But I remain very concerned about the drain on our resources this massive problem is creating. I am taking two of my best lawyers and, eventually, several other people from within our office away from the cases, investigations and other prosecutorial matters they have been working on, and reassigning them to deal with the fallout from this grave situation. I need additional resources to fill in the gaps left behind. I trust that the governor and legislature see the urgency here, and I believe they do."