Quick Facts
Birthday: January 6, 1950
Age: 71 Years, 71 Year Old Males
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Also Known As: Louis Joseph Freeh
Born Country: United States
Born in: Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
Famous as: Former Director of the FBI
Judges
Lawyers
Family:Spouse/Ex-: Marilyn Freeh
father: William Freeh, Sr.
mother: Bernice Chinchiola
siblings: Jr., William Freeh
children: Brendan Freeh, Conner Freeh, Justin Freeh, Sean Freeh
Notable Alumni: New York University School Of Law
City: Jersey City, New Jersey
U.S. State: New Jersey
Founder/Co-Founder: Freeh Group International Solutions
More Facts
education: New York University School of Law, Rutgers Law School, Rutgers University, Saint Joseph of the Palisades High School, Rutgers–New Brunswick
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Who is Louis J. Freeh?
Louis Joseph Freeh is an American lawyer and retired judge who held the post of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from September 1993 to June 2001. He was the fifth person to serve in that position, working under both the Clinton and Bush administrations. A native of New Jersey, Freeh was educated at St. Joseph's High School and later obtained a graduate degree Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University-New Brunswick. In 1974, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers School of Law-Newark. In the early days of his career, he worked for the FBI and subsequently served as an Assistant United States Attorney and United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. A lifelong Republican, he was made the FBI Director by Democratic President Bill Clinton. He continued to serve until the initial days of George W. Bush’s presidency. Since leaving the FBI, Freeh has been working as a lawyer and is predominantly active in the private sector.
Image Credit
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louisfreeh.jpeg
(FBI [Public domain])
Image Credit
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Director_Freeh_at_Mueller_Farewell.jpg
(FBI [Public domain])
Image Credit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7EInqQqX3Q
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Childhood & Early Life
Born on January 6, 1950, in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, Louis Freeh is the son of Bernice (née Chinchiolo) and William Freeh, Sr. His mother worked as a bookkeeper, while his father was a real estate broker. In 1967, he obtained a high-school diploma from St. Joseph's High School in West New York, New Jersey.
In 1971, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University–New Brunswick. He then went on to get his Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers School of Law–Newark in 1974 and Master of Laws degree in criminal law from New York University School of Law in 1984.
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Early Career
Louis Freeh began his tenure at the FBI in 1975 and served as a Special Agent until 1981 in the New York City field office and at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
In 1981, he became an Assistant US Attorney at the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. In the next few years, he also worked there as the Chief of the Organized Crime Unit, Deputy US Attorney, and Associate US Attorney. Furthermore, Freeh was appointed as a first lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve.
Between September 1985 and March 1987, he served as the lead prosecutor in the Pizza Connection Trial, which revolved around the prosecution of Sicilian organized crime members who ran a drug trafficking operation in US using pizza parlours as fronts. Following a 14-month-long trial, 16 of the 17 co-defendants were found guilty.
Freeh worked with Howard Shapiro as Special Prosecutor in the murder trial of Walter Leroy Moody, Jr., who allegedly used pipe bombs to assassinate federal judge Robert Smith Vance in Birmingham, Alabama, and attorney Robert Robinson in Savannah, Georgia.
In 1991, Moody was given seven federal life sentences and an additional 400 years. In 1996, he was put on a trial by the state for the murders. The state of Alabama executed him in 2018.
On May 30, 1991, Freeh became a US District Judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. His tenure lasted for about two years, until August 31, 1993, when he submitted his resignation.
FBI Director
From 1993 to 2001, Freeh served as the fifth Director of FBI. He began his tenure under the US President Bill Clinton.
Several high-profile incidents and internal investigations occurred during his service, including the Ruby Ridge incident, Waco Siege, Khobar Towers Bombing, TWA Flight 800 tragedy, Centennial Olympic Park bombing, Montana Freeman standoff, arrest of the "Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski, arrest of the Soviet Union and Russian spy Robert Hanssen, Wen Ho Lee incident, and the 1996 United States campaign finance controversy.
While he was heading the FBI, the organization also dealt with the death of White House counsel Vince Foster in 1993, allegations of incompetence at the FBI crime laboratory, investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, and the capture and prosecution of Timothy McVeigh.
Freeh also received a significant amount of criticism. For the Carnivore communications-monitoring system, the alleged Waco cover-up, and insubordination to Attorney General Reno, the editorial staff of ‘Business Week’ demanded his resignation in 2000.
Freeh quit the FBI in June 2001, amid the demand for stronger leadership for the agency. Following his resignation, he was dubbed “a model law enforcement officer” by Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Later Years
In September 2001, Freeh was made a member of the board of directors at credit card issuer MBNA. He has also worked for Iranian-American philanthropist Nasser Kazeminy and Pennsylvania State University. He runs the global risk management firm, Freeh Group International Solutions, LLC.
Family & Personal Life
A Roman Catholic, Louis Freeh is deeply religious. Contrary to popular belief, he does not have a membership of the Opus Dei prelature.
He is married. He and his wife, Marilyn, have six sons together. On October 23, 2009, he received Italian citizenship.
In the early afternoon of August 25, 2014, Freeh was driving south on Vermont 12 in his 2010 GMC Yukon, when his car got off the east side of the road. According to the police, the car hit a mailbox at 2762 Vermont 12, Barnard, Vermont, and a row of shrubs, before coming to a stop against a tree. Freeh admitted to the police that he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
