Robert C. Bonner

Robert C. Bonner (born January 29, 1942) is an American prosecutor, federal judge, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Bonner was born in Wichita, Kansas. He graduated from Georgetown Law School in 1966.

From 1984 to 1989, Bonner was the United States Attorney for the Central District of California and a judge of the United States District Court for that same district, 1989-1990. As a U.S. Attorney, he worked closely with the Drug Enforcement Administration on two record-breaking money laundering cases, Operations Pisces and Polar Cap, and had led the prosecution team against the killers of a DEA special agent. Bonner also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1967 to 1971.

On May 11, 1990, President George H.W. Bush nominated Robert C. Bonner to be Administrator of the DEA. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 27, 1990 and sworn in as the DEA's fifth Administrator on August 13, 1990. Bonner served as Administrator from August 16, 1990 to October 31, 1993.

In November 1993, just after leaving his post as head of the DEA, Judge Bonner appeared on 60 Minutes and stated that the CIA was involved in drug trafficking. [ [http://www.csun.edu/coms/ben/news/cia/ven/60m.html Untitled ] ]

From 1993 to 2001, Bonner was a partner in the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, an international law firm. His practice focused on business and white-collar crime matters, complex civil cases, internal corporate investigations, and corporate compliance programs. Among his cases, he represented madame Heidi Fleiss. [ [http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000893.php TPMmuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Lewis's Legal Dream Team ] ]

On June 24, 2001 President George W. Bush nominated Bonner as Commissioner of the United States Customs Service, later known as U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He announced his resignation from that position on September 28, 2005, having served four years which included the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the transfer of the Customs Service to that department, and retired on November 25, 2005.

He is now (again) a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. In 2006, he was hired by Representative Jerry Lewis, who has been linked to an investigation being conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (see Jerry Lewis - Lowery lobbying firm controversy). On August 12, 2007, he was named by the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee as a member of the campaign's "Immigration Advisory Board."

References

External links

* [http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/history/deahistory_05.htm Robert C. Bonner: Fifth DEA Administrator, DEA History]
* [http://www.gibsondunn.com/insidegdc/whoswho/bio/?contactId=b97f85845ca1282c Biography at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher]
* [http://www.joinrudy2008.com/news/pr/607 Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee Press Release]