Eulogy for Tom

By Bob Westinghouse

Seattle, October 20, 2001

Tom and I were colleagues in the U.S. Attorney's office for 18 years, although, in truth, I really don't remember ever being without him. Our focus was almost exclusively, white collar crime, particularly bank fraud. Beginning with the aftermath of the Penn Square Savings & Loan collapse, and working through the prosecutions that followed the failure of Home Savings, and countless other fraud cases, we were a team. We traveled together to South Texas; to Louisiana; to the East Coast. We tried cases together - one of which consumed us for three months - and yet we remained teammates. We celebrated victories together, and we agonized and anguished together when we stumbled - and then, in but a moment, we found something to make us laugh, to further motivate us and we moved on. Tommy, as I called him, was my workmate, my friend and I believe he held a special place in the hearts of all who worked with him in our office.

Supposedly, I supervised Tom, but in reality he was more like a mentor to me. He served as my moral compass. And mostly I learned from him. I learned for example, about:

1. Compassion
a. Tom looked for the good in his fellow man. Even though his focus as a federal prosecutor was in rooting out criminal violators, he consistently looked beyond the criminal conduct of signs of promise for more positive lifestyle. Indeed - and that adverb is one that I will always associate with Tom and Tom's writing - we debated with some regularity the pros and cons of prosecuting the low level embezzler who had an otherwise unblemished background with Tom urging leniency. On occasion he persuaded me, and otherwise he went forward, dutifully, with the prosecution, but always with a concern for the person being prosecuted.

b. Tom also demonstrated his compassion in his efforts to formulate and nurture a bank fraud speaker's program in which those who had been convicted of bank fraud and imprisoned for their conduct later spoke to new bank employees as a part of their training. Tom believed in this program because of its potential for deterrence, but also because he believed that those speaking were also aided in their rehabilitative efforts.

2. Advocacy
a. Tom was a brilliant writer and a most compelling orator. On innumerable occasions we jointly prepared and filed memoranda and briefs. The process was almost always the same. I would cobble together a first draft and forward it to Tommy. He would revise, and revise, and revise - eliminating my most outrageous metaphors and my more bellicose phrases; clarifying and crystallizing my thoughts, and generally rewriting our pleading. The end product was precise; often passionate, but always professionally done. Tom made certain of it.
As an aside, I recall countless lessons from Tom focusing on when to use "that" and when to use "which". I'm not certain he ever succeeded in imparting that lesson to me, but it wasn't because of a lack of trying.
b. Tom also was a forceful oral advocate who was willing to wade into any battle - but he did so only after preparing fully so that he knew the facts and the law. I believe he genuinely enjoyed the intellectual challenge. He was confidant and that confidence was reflected in his style. He was also the master of the repeated word or phrase. I cannot recall an argument in which I was not struck by this particular speech pattern, by the ever so brief, poignant pause, followed immediately by the repetition of the word or phrase for added emphasis. It was most effective and I find from time to time that I have borrowed this technique from Tom. Of course, when I do so again, the pause may be bit longer as I give a mental nod to him.

3. Courage
a. In the U.S. Attorney's office and in the community, Tom repeatedly demonstrated a steadfast commitment to his principles and his beliefs. Once committed to a course, he was prepared to pursue that commitment without concern for the consequences. If that meant advocating a sometimes unpopular cause, he was not hesitant to step forward. If it meant advocating a legal position that appeared to him to be correct, but doomed, he poured his efforts into constructing the most compelling argument possible under the circumstances.
b. Likewise, if there was a need to raise a bit of a sticky subject with another individual, Tom was prepared to take on the responsibility even though he viewed it as having a potential adverse effect on him personally. Tommy was my inspiration, my strength.

4. Professionalism and Ethics
Tom was our office's first and longest serving Professional Responsibility Officer, perhaps because his ethical meter seemed to be calibrated just a bit finer than anyone else's. On innumerable occasions, Tom and I, or Tom and others in the U.S. Attorney's office would attempt to grapple with particularly challenging ethical issues that seemed to regularly leap to the forefront. We involved Tom in these discussions, because we valued his opinion; we genuinely considered him our almost infallible compass, a sort of personal Dave Boerner [Professor, Seattle University School of Law].

5. Loyalty
Tom was the epitome of a good friend, always there when needed. He was a caring, considerate person who always asked about my children, my family, my interests. Similarly, he was always ready to help.
Jerry Diskin, our U.S. Attorney, tells the story of Tom arriving at this house one day many years in the past to help tear up an old floor. Tom appeared wearing a gas mask; and the most dismal clothing imaginable. Whether he actually helped might be debatable, however. Jerry reports Tom had soon put his foot through the Diskin's newly renovated ceiling and spent several days thereafter pleading with Jerry to allow him to come back and repair the damage.

6. Laughter (Feeling or causing joy)
a. Tom loved life and his fits of laughter will for me ever be a large part of my memories of him. Over the years, there were countless times when Tom and I would be overtaken with the humor of the moment. I will forever see him wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes with the back of his hands.

b. On occasion, it was Tom who actually prompted this laughter. For example, he did so with his diet. For most of Tom's life as a prosecutor, lunch each day was the same as the day before and the day after - a peanut butter and ketchup sandwich. A special treat that few others appreciated. I remember one Secretary's Day in which Tom, being the caring but frugal person that he was, cut up his sandwich to share with others in the fraud unit. As I recall there were no takers.
More recently, Tom underwent a profound change, and transitioned from peanut butter and ketchup to rice and herbal tea. A year or so before we moved to our new office, a new red rice cooker appeared, and for the last couple of years we have come to expect to see Tom with his ornate bowl of rice and his cup of tea, sitting at his desk piled high with papers and case files.

Perhaps, his diet is the one aspect of his life that did not much influence those around him. If so, it constitutes a rarity. In almost every other manner, Tom as an Assistant United States Attorney had a profound effect on all of us. He taught us much about the very best of being a federal prosecutor. I intend to go forth and celebrate his life by doing my best to put those lessons into play. If, in the future, I seem to pause a little longer before making a decision, it's possibly because I'm asking myself, "What would Tom have done?"

Thanks, Tommy. See ya!