Thomas Peter O'Brien (born June 19, 1959) is an American white collar criminal defense lawyer at the
Los Angeles law office of Ellis George Cipollone O’Brien Annaguey LLP.
He was the
United States Attorney for the
Central District of California from October 2007 to September 2009.
Education and military service
O'Brien graduated from the
United States Naval Academy in 1981,
where he earned his bachelor's degree, and from the
University of San Diego School of Law
The University of San Diego School of Law (USD Law) is the law school of the University of San Diego, a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1954, the law school has held ABA approval since 1961. It ...
in 1993, where he was an associate editor of the San Diego Law Review and received his degree with honors. He accumulated 2,000 flight hours as a radar intercept officer in the F-14 fighter aircraft,
and is a graduate of the
United States Navy Fighter Weapons School.
Later life and legal career
After leaving the U.S. Navy, he landed a job as a stockbroker in October 1987. He left the business world after two years with that job.
O'Brien worked as deputy district attorney for
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...
for more than five years in the gang unit. Before becoming United States Attorney, O'Brien served as chief of the Criminal Division in the United States Attorney's Office. In 2009, he oversaw the largest federal gang sweep in DOJ history, where 88 Hawaiian Gardens gang members were arrested.
He is currently a litigation partner, where he focuses his practice on white collar defense and representing clients in federal investigations, at the Los Angeles law office of Ellis George Cipollone O’Brien Annaguey LLP. O'Brien was previously a partner at the Los Angeles office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.
[
]
Controversies
Disbanding Of Public Corruption Unit
Shortly after taking office as the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, O'Brien disbanded the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles whose target was corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
of public officials, elected officials, and other governmental regulators. O'Brien explained that the unit's 17 lawyers would be farmed out to other sections in the office.
Inquiry of Cardinal Roger Mahony
In 2009, O'Brien launched an inquiry of Cardinal Roger Mahony, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church's Los Angeles Archdiocese, which caused the Federal Grand Jury
Grand juries in the United States are groups of citizens empowered by United States federal or state law to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly investigating potential criminal conduct and determining whether criminal charges should be brought. T ...
to take action. With the grand jury's inquiry came the possibility that Mahony would be held responsible for the many molestations that occurred by members of the clergy who the cardinal had reason to suspect were pedophiles. O'Brien was responsible for bringing the suit to light. There's a possibility that the "let's-move-on attitude might have gained traction were it not for U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien." The grand jury probe by O'Brien's office examined whether or not Mahony would be held accountable for leaving multiple sexual predators, including two convicted child molesters, serving in the ministry "until 2002 when a legal settlement in a clergy sexual abuse case mandated their removal." The suit was later dropped as it was filed under the ''honest services
Honest services fraud is a crime defined in (the federal mail and wire fraud statute), added by the United States Congress in 1988, which states "For the purposes of this chapter, the term ''scheme or artifice to defraud'' includes a scheme or ...
act'', a law which is usually only applied to public officials and not members of the church.
Government expense account
O'Brien resigned as United States Attorney in September 2009. Shortly thereafter, an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department Inspector General uncovered that O'Brien stayed at pricey hotels while traveling and then sought government reimbursement by telling his secretary to lie and state falsely that more affordable rooms were not available. The report found that O'Brien's claims for reimbursement were "inappropriate and egregious" ethics violations. O'Brien denied telling his secretary to make false statements, but when interviewed by investigators he then blamed his secretary. Investigators found O'Brien's claims to be neither "credible or persuasive," the report said. O'Brien maintained his innocence.[
]
Awards
*Named Prosecutor of the Month in July 2000 by the Los Angeles County Association of Deputy District Attorneys.
*Received the 2007 Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
Pacific Southwest Region's Helene and Joseph Sherwood Prize for combatting hate.
*In October 2007, O'Brien received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service, the Justice Department's highest award, for his role in successfully prosecuting four gang members who conspired to assault and murder African-Americans in the Highland Park neighborhood.
References
External links
Archived Bio from the Office of the United States Attorney for the Central District of California
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Thomas P.
Living people
United States Attorneys for the Central District of California
United States Naval Academy alumni
University of San Diego School of Law alumni
United States Naval Aviators
1959 births
Paul Hastings partners
Lawyers from Salem, Massachusetts
Military personnel from Massachusetts