John C. Lawn
Encyclopedia
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
(DEA) between 26 July 1985 and 23 March 1990. On 1 March 1985, Lawn, who had served as Deputy Administrator since 1982, was designated Acting Administrator following the retirement of Francis M. Mullen
Francis M. Mullen
Francis M. "Bud" Mullen, Jr. is a former Executive Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration .- Biography :...
. On 4 April 1985, he was nominated by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
to be the next Administrator of the DEA. Mr. Lawn was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 16 July 1985, and sworn in on 26 July 1985.
Before coming to the DEA, Mr. Lawn had served for 15 years as a Special Agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). As Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio field office from 1980 to 1982, he had directed the successful investigation into the assassination of U.S. District Judge John H. Wood, Jr.
John H. Wood, Jr.
John Howland Wood, Jr. was an American lawyer and judge from the U.S. state of Texas. He served on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas before being assassinated by Charles Harrelson outside Wood's home in San Antonio, Texas, in 1979. Wood's killing was the first...
Before this historic case, Lawn had supervised all FBI civil rights cases, including allegations of police brutality and color of law complaints. In addition, he was responsible for background investigations of White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
officials, federal judges, and US attorney nominees. He also served in the Criminal Division of FBI headquarters where he supervised Congressional
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
review of the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, and President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
.
From 1990-1994, Mr. Lawn served as vice-president and chief of operations of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
. In 1998, he was serving as the chairman and CEO of The Century Council
The Century Council
The Century Council is a Virginia-based American not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 and funded by a group of distillers that aims to fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and promotes responsible decision-making regarding alcohol use....
, a national organization dedicated to fighting alcohol abuse. On Thursday, September 30, 2010, in Washington, DC at the JW Marriott Hotel, the DEA Educational Foundation honored Mr. Lawn, presenting him with the 2010 DEA Educational Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. This award was presented in recognition of his decades of leadership and commitment to drug law enforcement, drug abuse prevention, and drug treatment.