Peter F. Neronha, an assistant U.S. Attorney here since 2002 and a former state prosecutor, could become the state’s next top federal law enforcement official.

Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse announced Wednesday that they have asked President Obama to nominate Neronha, 45, to succeed his boss, Robert Clark Corrente, as U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island. The four-year appointment requires Senate confirmation.

Corrente, who has held the post for five years, said Wednesday night that he had heard Neronha was the senators’ choice. “He is a talented prosecutor,” he said. “He should do well.”

A native Rhode Islander, Neronha graduated from Boston College — where he was ranked in the top 10 in his class — and magna cum laude from Boston College Law School. He joined the Massachusetts bar in 1989 and practiced civil litigation with Goodwin Proctor LLP.

In 1996, he began a six-year stint with the Rhode Island attorney general’s office. During that time, as an assistant attorney general, he helped prosecute five men in the infamous carjacking and killing, on a Johnston golf course, of two college students.

In 2002, Neronha joined the U.S. Attorney’s office, where he has been heavily involved in helping local enforcement agencies curb crimes involving guns.

Reed and Whitehouse noted Wednesday that Neronha also has played a role in prosecuting organized crime and public corruption cases.

“Peter Neronha is a veteran prosecutor and dedicated public servant,” the senators said in a joint statement, “He is a true professional. His exemplary service in the U.S. Attorney’s office and the state attorney general’s office has earned him respect across the board from the law enforcement and legal communities. We are confident Mr. Neronha … will do an outstanding job serving and protecting the people of Rhode Island.”

rdujardi@projo.com