NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. — The body of a retired assistant U.S. attorney was found in the water at Smith Boys Marina late Sunday. 

George Burgasser served as an assistant U.S. attorney for nearly 30 years before he retired last July. 

Emergency crews responded to the Smith Boys Marina in North Tonawanda just after 10 p.m. Sunday and were able to bring Burgasser out of the water. 

It is believed he fell off a boat and had been in the water for 30 to 45 minutes before he was found.

North Tonawanda Police confirm the case is under investigation. 

Burgasser "served his country and our community with distinction," said U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy in a statement Monday. "He was everyone's friend. Fellow prosecutors, the defense bar, judges, juries and even those he prosecuted, all respected George, but perhaps, most telling is the fact that they all liked George as well. He was passionate about his work yet remained compassionate to all with whom he came into contact. He lived and worked by the greatest legal precept of all — the Golden Rule."