Tom Strickland
| Tom Strickland | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office May 2009 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| U.S. Attorney, Colorado | |
| In office 1999–2001 |
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Tom Strickland is an American lawyer who works as chief of staff to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in the Interior Department. Strickland served as United States Attorney for Colorado and was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate for Colorado in 1996 and 2002.
Contents |
[edit] Early life and career
Tom Strickland was born in Texas but attended Louisiana State University. In 1977 he graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law.[1]
Assuming office the day after the Columbine High School massacre, Strickland's legacy as U.S. Attorney is his tough stance on gun crime. Shortly after taking office, Strickland led efforts to enact Colorado's Project Exile, under which Federal and local prosecutors would cooperate to bring gun charges under state or federal laws, whichever would offer the toughest sentence. During its first year, Colorado Project Exile doubled the number of people who were charged with violating state and federal gun laws in Colorado. Under Strickland's leadership, the project launched with support from gun rights groups including the National Rifle Association and gun control groups such as Handgun Control, Inc.[2]
[edit] Law career
Strickland's most notable cases include the prosecution of 25 people associated with a major cocaine distribution ring outside of Colorado Springs, Colo.,[3] the indictment of 42 people associated with a motorcycle gang,[4] and the indictment of representatives from three drug running organizations in one of the largest drug roundups in the state's history.[5] In 2000, he prosecuted of the largest drug bust in Longmont's history, an investigation that grew to include California and Nebraska and involved the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney's office, the Federal Housing Authority and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.[6]
Strickland also levied 37 felony counts of selling large quantities of guns to criminals against Gregory Golyansky, his brother Leonid and their employee and cousin, Dmitry Baravik, in a politically-charged trial that ended in a plea bargain with a sentence of just one day of probation and a lifetime ban on selling firearms. While critics charged that Strickland targeted the Golyanskys because of their Republican leanings, John Suthers, Strickland's replacement and a Republican, reviewed the case and decided to continue prosecuting despite alleged problems with the case.[7] As Suthers explained, "You've got to rely on hard-core criminals as witnesses. The girlfriends of hard-core criminals are not exactly spectacular witnesses either." In addition, Strickland went after human traffickers as demonstrated by his commitment to prosecuting three people in charges of transporting illegal immigrants after a van crash in northeast Colorado that killed six men. The victims were packed into a van with 14 other passengers who also sustained injuries when a tractor trailer ran into the back of the van.[8]
After almost two years on the job, Strickland left office after acquiring "a reputation as a tough, effective law-and-order prosecutor," according to an editorial appearing in the Denver Post just prior to the end of Strickland's tenure as U.S. Attorney.[9] Strickland joined the Hogan & Hartson law firm, serving as Managing Partner for the firm's Colorado offices. He was also a member of Hogan & Hartson's executive committee.[10] On April 24, 2007, he was appointed executive vice president and chief legal officer of UnitedHealth Group, a diversified health and well-being company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and serving more than 70 million individuals nationwide.[11] On January 21, 2009, it was announced that Strickland had accepted an appointment to serve in President Barack Obama's administration as the chief of staff in the Department of the Interior.[12]
[edit] U.S. Senate campaign
Strickland was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate for Colorado in both 1996 and 2002, but was unsuccessful, losing to Republican Wayne Allard both times, by a margin of around 5 percent in each election.[13][14][15]
[edit] References
- ^ Birr, Emily. "Former U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland (Democrat)". PBS. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2002/races/co_strickland.html. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Janofsky, Michael. "Opposites Join In Supporting Gun Initiative In Colorado." The New York Times 7 March 2000: A12
- ^ Emery, Erin. "Colorado Springs Cocaine operation broken up 17 suspects arrested; guns, cash were seized." Denver Post 17 October 2000, Southern Colorado: B-05.
- ^ Nieves, Danielle (1999-10-09). "37 arrested in raids on Sons of Silence". BNET. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_19991009/ai_n9964034. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ "Authorities tout Denver-area drug-trafficking arrests as 'largest ever'." Associated Press Newswires 23 September 1999.
- ^ Auge, Karen. "Longmont 21 arrested in drug sweep 78 officers gather meth, cocaine, guns." Denver Post 25 February 2000, Rockies ed.: B-04.
- ^ Abbott, Karen. "Charges in Gun-selling Case Dismissed; Plea Agreement Bans 3 Men from Peddling Firearms." Rocky Mountain News 9 November 2002: 24A.
- ^ "Three indicted in deaths of 6 illegal immigrants." Associated Press Newswires 30 March 2001.
- ^ "Editorial Good work, Tom Strickland." Denver Post 28 March 2001: B.08.
- ^ "Thomas L Strickland". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/personinfo/FromPersonIdPersonTearsheet.jhtml?passedPersonId=1137328. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Decker, Noël (2007-04-24). "Denver Office Managing Partner Tom Strickland Appointed Chief Legal Officer of UnitedHealth Group". Hogan & Hartson. http://www.hhlaw.com/pressroom/newspubs/detail.aspx?news=769. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Power, Stephen (21 January 2009). "Salazar: Time to ‘Rebrand’ Interior Department.". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/01/21/salazar-time-to-rebrand-interior-department.
- ^ Janofsky, Michael (2002-11-06). "The 2002 Elections: The Senate -- Colorado; Saving a Seat For the Republicans". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE6DD113EF935A35752C1A9649C8B63. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Christian, Nichole M.; Cushman Jr, John H.; Day, Sherri; Dillon, Sam; Lewis, Neil A.; Pear, Robert; Pristin, Terry; Shenon, Philip et al (2002-11-06). "The 2002 Elections: West; Colorado". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E5DF113EF935A35752C1A9649C8B63. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ Janofsky, Michael (2002-11-09). "The 2002 Election: The Voters; Jefferson County, Colo.". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E00E3DC1531F93AA35752C1A9649C8B63. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Josie Heath |
Democratic Party nominee for United States Senator from Colorado (Class 2) 1996, 2002 |
Succeeded by Mark Udall |
