Arthur Teele

Arthur "Art" Teele (May 14, 1946 – July 27, 2005) was an American lawyer and politician who belonged to the Republican Party. Born into a wealthy black family in Florida, Teele received an excellent education and became a respected officer in the US Army and went on to a successful career in private practice and politics. A controversial tabloid raised scandalous charges against him during his fight to clear his name from a conviction, and he committed suicide. Posthumously, his case was appealed and his conviction was overturned exonerating him of all charges. Art Teele married Celestra Patton Teele, of whom he had one son Arthur Patton Teele. (Trey) Teele, later married Stephanie K. Teele of whom he was married upon his death.

Teele was a law student who went into the military after his graduation. Teele served the US Army as a Judge Advocate General on the personal staff of General Henry Emerson, Commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg from July 1975 to June 1977. Teele earned his law degree from Florida State University College of Law.

After his honorable discharge from the US Army, Teele provided pro bono services to the defendants in the Wilmington Ten which was the most prominent civil rights case in America during the 1970s. Teele met with the attorneys for the Wilmington Ten as well as attorneys and administrative staff of North Carolina Attorney General Rufus Edmisten. In 1980, the federal courts ordered a new trial for the Wilmington Ten, and Attorney General Edmisten dropped all charges after hearing appeals from Teele and others permitting the Wilmington Ten to go free.

Returning to the private practice of law in his home state of Florida, Teele became the attorney for Bill France, the founder of NASCAR, before entering politics in Miami. In Europe, Teele consulted with Interpol on investigations into organized crime and international homicide cases.

Shortly after his election in 1980, President Ronald Reagan appointed Teele to the post of Assistant Secretary of Transportation. From 1981–83, Teele was the head of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA), a position officially known as Administrator of UMTA (now FTA).

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