Aug. 31 , 2006
Contact: Rita Mitchell, University Relations
Former FBI director to speak at UT Martin
MARTIN, Tenn. - Louis Freeh, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1993-2001, will speak at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 18, in the Elam Center at the University of Tennessee at Martin. After years of public service, Freeh was hailed as “a law enforcement legend” upon his appointment by President Bill Clinton, while New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani called him “the singularly best-suited person in America to run the FBI.”
Freeh’s presentation,“National Security and Civil Liberty: Pros and Cons,” is part of the Academic Speaker Series and sponsored by the UT Martin Honors Programs, First-Year Initiative, Office of Student Affairs, Student Activities Council and the American Democracy Project. It is free and open to the public.
“As we pass the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks upon New York and Washington, we are locked in a national discussion over the issue of balancing our national security with our desire for protection of our civil liberties,” said Dr. Dan McDonough, honors programs director. “No one is better suited than Louis Freeh, longtime federal prosecutor and director of the FBI, to place these issues into focus and help us to understand how our nation can remain secure against attack while defending the rights and liberties of our citizens.”
After graduating from Rutgers Law School in 1974, Freeh joined the FBI as a special agent in the New York City field office. After six years with the FBI, Freeh joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in 1981, becoming chief of the Organized Crime Unit and Associate United States Attorney. In these positions, he assumed the lead role in the investigation and prosecution of the New York Mafia, including his service as lead prosecutor in the famous “Pizza Connection” case, the largest and most complex investigation undertaken by the federal government to that time. For his efforts, Freeh was awarded the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in 1987 and 1991. In 1991, Freeh was appointed United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York, serving in this position until his appointment as director of the FBI in 1993.
In his eight years as director, Freeh grappled with the question of law enforcement in a rapidly changing world. With the rise of terrorism, both foreign and domestic, Freeh modernized and internationalized the bureau, doubling the number of FBI branches around the world, increasing focus upon counterintelligence and cybercrime, while expanding and enhancing the use of DNA technology and state-of-the-art electronic surveillance.
Since leaving the FBI, Freeh served as vice chairman of MBNA America Bank from September 2001 to January 2006, as well as serving as general counsel for the bank and MBNA Corporation, corporate secretary and ethics officer. In 2005, he published the bestselling book, “My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton and Fighting the War on Terror.”
For more information, contact McDonough at 731-881-7436.
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