[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 82 (Monday, June 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S5787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN HONOR OF PAUL McLAUGHLIN

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today to join the City of 
Boston, the residents of Massachusetts, and members of the law 
enforcement community across the country in recognizing the loss of 
Paul McLaughlin. Paul was a committed prosecutor who lived his life for 
others, and on September 25, 1995, he was shot while getting into his 
car after work. This weekend Boston memorializes its loss with the 
dedication of the Paul McLaughlin Boys and Girls Club in Dorchester's 
Savin Hill neighborhood and I join the city in this important day of 
recognition.
  Paul came from a long, distinguished line of Bostonians. His 
grandfather, Edward Sr., was the Boston Fire Commissioner as well as a 
member of the State Legislature in the 1920's, and his father, Edward 
Jr., was President of the Boston City Council, an Assistant U.S. 
Attorney, and Lt. Governor under Governor Volpe. A graduate of Boston 
Latin School, Dartmouth College and Suffolk Law School, Paul was 
admitted to the bar in 1981 and his early work included time at the 
Cambridge District Court and the Public Protection Bureau. Paul was the 
consummate professional, and his reputation soon led to serving on the 
Attorney General's staff in 1991, where he was assigned to drug and 
gang cases in Suffolk Superior Court. During one five year stretch he 
compiled an impressive 73 percent conviction rate, winning 98 of 134 
Superior Court cases.
  In a fitting tribute to Paul's commitment to working for a better 
community for all of us, especially our children, the site for the 
McLaughlin Boys and Girls Club is one of Boston's Ten Most Wanted drug 
houses. On Saturday, June 24th, the McLaughlin Family joined with Mayor 
Thomas M. Menino and members of the Colonel Daniel Marr Boys & Girls 
Club in honoring Paul's life by opening a remarkable new facility in 
his name in Dorchester's Savin Hill neighborhood. The Paul R. 
McLaughlin Youth Center will perpetuate Paul's legacy of selfless 
service to his community by serving 2,600 children in one of the 
state's most successful youth programs. The structure that used to be 
the source of drugs and despair will now be a beacon of hope for the 
whole city.
  Mr. President, I join the people of Dorchester, West Roxbury and 
Jamaica Plain in mourning the loss of their neighbor and friend. My 
thoughts go out to Paul's colleagues, friends and family. Together, we 
realize how fortunate we are to have worked with and known an 
individual of his caliber. Today the City of Boston memorializes this 
loss, and I join everyone in honoring his life by opening the Paul R. 
McLaughlin Youth Center.

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