[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 64 (Tuesday, May 19, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ROBERT W. GENZMAN IN MEMORIAM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL McCOLLUM

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 19, 1998

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I come before this body tonight to express 
my deep sadness over the death of Robert W. Genzman, one of the finest 
individuals I have ever know. Bob Genzman passed away in Orlando on May 
12, 1998. He left a legacy of public service and accomplishment that 
will serve as an example for many in the years to come.
  Bob Genzman received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, an 
M.S. degree from the London School of Economics, and in 1977 a J.D. 
from Cornell Law School. Following law school Bob spent 2 years as 
staff counsel to the House Select Committee on Assassinations as one of 
several attorneys assigned to investigate the assassination of 
President Kennedy. He participated in public hearings and wrote and 
edited substantial portions of the Committee's final report. Later he 
spent several years as a Legislative Assistant to Congressman Bob 
Livingston.
  From 1980 to 1983 he was Assistant United States Attorney in Orlando. 
After entering the private practice of law, Bob was tapped in 1987 to 
take a leave of absence from his law firm and serve as Associate 
Minority Counsel for the Republican Members of the House Select 
Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. In this 
capacity he did a great amount of research, deposed numerous witnesses, 
questioned in open hearings several of these witnesses including 
Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, and wrote and edited 
substantial portions of the Committee's final report
  In early 1988 Bob Genzman was selected by President Reagan to serve 
as United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. Appointed 
by President Bush shortly after he took office, Bob was U.S. Attorney 
for the Middle District until 1993. He supervised 94 attorneys in a 35 
county district with offices in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Fort 
Myers. During his tenure he pioneered the use of the federal criminal 
law for possession and use of a firearm by a convicted felon to 
prosecute previously convicted felons serving relatively short 
sentences in state or county jails so as to get them off the streets 
and locked up in a federal prison for a lengthy period of time. 
Attorney General Richard Thornburgh embraced this as a national policy 
under the name ``Operation Triggerlock.''
  I got to know Bob Genzman quite well while I served as a member of 
the Iran Contra Committee. He was an excellent counsel for the 
Committee and struck me as bright, capable, even tempered, gracious and 
compassionate. When the office of U.S. Attorney opened, it was a 
pleasure for me to recommend him for this position. There had been much 
turmoil in this office, and everyone who worked with Bob Genzman while 
he was U.S. Attorney says he settled the office down and ran it with 
great professionalism.
  Above all else, Bob Genzman was a family man. He is survived by his 
wife, Martha; his 5 year old twin children, Rob and Jackie; and his 
parents, Catherine and Glenn Genzman.

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