Foley

In 2004, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft awardedThomas J. Foley the United States Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service for his role in the Whitey Bulger/John Connolly investigation.? It is the Justice Department's most prestigious?award. A career officer with the Massachusetts State Police, Col. Thomas J. Foley rose to become Superintendant, its highest ranking officer, in 2001.? Starting in 1984, he was a member of the State Police's first task force against organized crime,...See more

In 2004, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft awardedThomas J. Foley the United States Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service for his role in the Whitey Bulger/John Connolly investigation.? It is the Justice Department's most prestigious?award. A career officer with the Massachusetts State Police, Col. Thomas J. Foley rose to become Superintendant, its highest ranking officer, in 2001.? Starting in 1984, he was a member of the State Police's first task force against organized crime, helping to create the Investigative Unit that was dedicated to bringing James J. ?Whitey? Bulger to justice.? In 1995, ?Foley's group successfully brought the first charges that had ever been filed against Bulger since?he became involved in organized crime in 1967.? While Bulger eluded capture for reasons detailed in this proposal, Foley's investigative efforts resulted in criminal convictions of a half-dozen of Boston's most notorious gangsters, many of whom are still in prison today.? His work also led to the conviction of John Connolly, one of the FBI agents who abetted Bulger. Connolly is now serving a forty-year prison sentence. Since retiring from the state police in 2004, Foley has served on the Governor's Council of Massachusetts, which reviews and approves the Governor's appointments to the courts, and teaches justice studies at Southern New Hampshire University. See less