Rick Romley
Rick Romley (Richard M. Romley) | |
|---|---|
| Interim County Attorney for Maricopa County, Arizona | |
| In office 2010 – November 3, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Andrew Thomas |
| Succeeded by | Bill Montgomery |
| County Attorney for Maricopa County, Arizona | |
| In office 1989–2004 | |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard M. Romley 1949 (age 74–75) Tucson, Arizona |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Arizona State University ASU Law School |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Awards | Purple Heart |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Rick Romley (Richard M. Romley) (born 1949), a Republican, was the County Attorney for Maricopa County, Arizona from 1989 to 2004.
Early life
A veteran of the Vietnam War, serving in the United States Marine Corps,[1] he received numerous commendations for his service in that war, including the Purple Heart medal.[2] He was severely wounded by a land mine, losing both legs above the knee and suffering other injuries.[3] Following the war, Romley went to Arizona State University in Tempe as a business management student, and graduated in 1974. He later attended ASU's law school and attained his Juris Doctor degree in 1981.
Career highlights
Romley was elected Maricopa County attorney in 1989. One of his highest publicized cases was when he was the prosecutor of the infamous AzScam scandal of the early 1990s, the largest public corruption scandal in Arizona history.[citation needed] In 2002, he initiated an investigation of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix and their part in the pedophile priest scandals, that led to an admission of wrongdoing by the then Bishop Thomas O'Brien. Romley also prosecuted Ray Krone for the murder of Kim Ancona. Krone, who had no prior criminal record, was convicted and sentenced to death. After spending ten years in prison, four on Death Row, Krone was freed after DNA conclusively proved that he was innocent. Romley defended his prosecution of Ray Krone by saying there was "strong circumstantial evidence" of his guilt. In response to the conclusive proof that an innocent Ray Krone spent 10-1/2 years in prison, four of which was spent on Arizona's death row, Prosecutor Romley said, "we will try to do better." He neglected to mention that the prosecution's concealment of the odontologist's report that cast doubt on Ray's guilt prior to his first trial indicates they may have knowingly prosecuted an innocent man. (see: "Twice Wrongly Convicted of Murder - Ray Krone Is Set Free After 10 Years", By Hans Sherrer, Justice Denied Magazine, Vol. 2, Issue 9
In 2001, he received the Disabled American Veterans' (DAV) Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year.[4]
After leaving the county attorney's post, Romley served as a special advisor to the Arizona Attorney General for six months.[1] In August 2007, he became a personal advisor to James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in Washington, D.C.[1] In April 2010 the Board of Supervisors appointed him as Interim Maricopa County Attorney when Andrew Thomas resigned[5] amid ethics investigations from that position to run for the office of Attorney General of Arizona, making Romley only the 3rd interim ever since 1912 following Donald Harris in 1976 and Phil MacDonnell (Andrew Thomas' Chief Deputy) in 2010.
Romley's success as the interim county attorney came to an end on August 24, 2010 when Bill Montgomery beat Romley in the Republican Primary.[6] Rick Romley ended his appointed term on November 3, 2010.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Goddard, Terry (July 12, 2007). "Rick Romley Made Many Contributions". Arizona Attorney General. Retrieved March 24, 2009. Cite error: The named reference "Goddard" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ National Purple Heart Hall Of Honor (2015-09-01). "Purple Heart Recipient". Retrieved 2015-09-01.
- ^ Rubin, Paul (December 16, 2004). "Balls in the Air: Steely County Attorney Rick Romley's going, but he's not gone". Phoenix News Times. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
- ^ Wilborn (January–February 2002). "Rick Romley receives Unsung Hero Award - Disabled American Veterans". DAV Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
- ^ http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/04/02/20100402thomas0402.html
- ^ "Montgomery, Arpaio beat Romley". August 25, 2010.
- ^ http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PoliticalInsider/97317