Thomas Reilly

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Thomas F. Reilly (February 14, 1942) is the Massachusetts attorney general. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts to Irish immigrant parents.

He is among several potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for the office of Governor in the Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2006, along with former Assistant U.S. Attorney General Deval Patrick and businessman Chris Gabrieli.

Early life

Reilly described himself as a “misguided youth” the year his father, Mortimer "Murty" Reilly, was found dead at home from a heart attack when Reilly was 16. Reilly was arrested for public drunkenness when he was 20. By age 22, he was focused with driving ambition, much to the credit of Wayne Budd's father, an ex-Marine turned policeman in Springfield who took him under wing and encouraged him to go to school.

Reilly attended Cathedral High School in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated in 1959. After graduating high school, he went off to college in Nova Scotia at St. Francis Xavier University. He stayed there only a year, transferring to American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he graduated on June 7 1964. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Reilly moved to Washington DC and worked for two years with the Central Intelligence Agency. For one year, Reilly moved to Dearborn, Michigan, where he worked with the Ford Motor Company as a Labor Relations Representative until 1967. Reilly attended Boston College Law School and received his JD in June 1970.

Reilly worked for two years as a prosecutor in the state attorney general’s civil rights division. He worked for four years as a Suffolk County prosecutor. In 1976, Reilly and Budd formed “Budd and Reilly”, a Boston-based law firm. The firm became the largest minority dominated firm in New England.

Political career

Reilly left the law firm in 1983 to work in Middlesex County District Attorney Scott Harshbarger’s administration as First Assistant District Attorney. In 1991, Reilly was elected Middlesex County District Attorney. He was reelected for a second term.

Reilly ran for attorney general in 1998 against state Senator Lois Pines and won. He was reelected for a second term in 2002.

In January 2006, Reilly came under fire for allegedly impeding an investigation into an October 2005 automobile crash which left two Southborough, Massachusetts teens dead, and another teen injured. Reilly admitted publicly that he advised the Worcester County District Attorney that he did not have to give local police a toxicology report showing the blood-alcohol level of the teens. Reilly is a friend of the teens' father and has accepted campaign contributions from him. [reference needed]

On January 24, 2006, Reilly officially kicked off his gubernatorial campaign in Springfield at his alma mater American International College (see Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2006). On April 21, the SEIU Local 1199 is expected to endorse Reilly's candidacy for governor. [Union set to rally behing Reilly bid]

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