[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 48 (Monday, April 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S3658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    STEPHEN C. ROBINSON--U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, there are few issues as important as 
protecting our citizens and keeping our communities free of crime. 
Americans should feel secure in their homes, at their schools, and in 
their neighborhoods, and in recent years we have made tremendous 
progress in this area, reducing the crime rate for a record five years 
in a row. But more work needs to be done. One of the most effective 
ways to make our streets safer is attracting talented and committed 
individuals to work in law enforcement. That is why I am so pleased 
that my Senate colleagues have displayed great wisdom and unanimously 
confirmed Stephen C. Robinson to serve as U.S. Attorney for the State 
of Connecticut.
  Mr. Robinson has extensive and varied law enforcement experience in 
the public sector and his legal and investigative work for the private 
sector well qualify him to serve in this position. I was proud to 
recommend his nomination to the President, and I believe that he will 
bring a sense of intelligence, integrity, and energy to this office.
  After graduating from Cornell University and Cornell Law School, Mr. 
Robinson was in private practice for several years. He then became an 
Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York where he 
directed the prosecution of narcotics cases and tax fraud and 
securities fraud cases. He also argued appeals in the U.S. Court of 
Appeals in the Second Circuit. In 1990, Mr. Robinson received the 
Department of Justice's Director Award for Superior Performance as an 
Assistant U.S. Attorney.
  Mr. Robinson also has served as Associate General Counsel and 
Managing Director at Kroll Associates, the world's largest private 
investigation firm. In 1993, FBI Director Louis Freeh asked Mr. 
Robinson to join the Bureau as his Special Assistant and General 
Counsel. At the FBI, he oversaw counter-terrorism and counter-espionage 
policy and investigation; revision of the selection and promotion 
process for Special Agents; and FBI undercover investigation proposals. 
Mr. Robinson has most recently worked as Chief Compliance Officer for 
Aetna U.S. Healthcare in Middletown, Connecticut, and he is also an 
instructor of Trial Practice Law at Yale Law School.
  Mr. Robinson's confirmation is particularly significant in 
Connecticut, because he is the first African-American to ever serve as 
our State's top federal prosecutor. He has spoken publicly about the 
sense of hopelessness amongst young blacks throughout the country. And 
having grown up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Mr. 
Robinson hopes that young people from inner cities will look at him and 
see someone who can not only relate to their circumstances, but who 
also illustrates that if you get your education and work hard you can 
attain your goals, regardless of where you come from. Mr. Robinson 
stands as a positive role model for African-American youths, and in 
fact all young people.
  By taking the post of Connecticut's U.S. Attorney, Mr. Robinson is 
renewing his connection to public service. But this may have never been 
possible were it not for a conversation between Steve and his mother in 
1996. During the Thanksgiving holidays, his mother encouraged him to 
return to public service and give more back to his community. Mr. 
Robinson has frequently stated that this conversation prompted him to 
reevaluate what he wanted to do with his life. Upon reflection, he 
decided to take his mother's advice, and he decided that he should 
return to public service. On behalf of the people of Connecticut, I 
would like to thank Steve's mother. Steve Robinson is a man of 
outstanding character and intelligence, and we are fortunate to have 
him serve as our next U.S. Attorney.
  I offer my sincere congratulations to Steve, his wife Kathleen 
Sullivan, his daughter Victoria, and all of his family and friends on 
his well-deserved confirmation. I have every confidence that he will 
flourish in this position.




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