Civiletti, Benjamin R.

Civiletti, Benjamin R. (Richard)

(1935–  ) lawyer, U.S. attorney general; born in Peekskill, N.Y. After two years as a U.S. attorney in Maryland (1962–64), he joined one of Baltimore's most prestigious law firms, Venable, Baetjer & Howard (1964–77). Brought in as an assistant attorney general in the new Carter administration in 1977, he was promoted to deputy attorney general (1978) and then to attorney general (1979–81). He pursued white-collar crime, sought release of American hostages in Iran, and handled a number of politically sensitive issues. On leaving the government he returned to his Baltimore law firm, and in 1987 he became managing partner.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.