Thomas A. Constantine

Thomas A. Constantine (December 23, 1938 – May 3, 2015) served as Administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) between April 15, 1994 and July 1999.

Constantine was born in Buffalo, New York on December 23, 1938. He was educated in parochial schools there and was graduated from St. Joseph's Collegiate Academy.

Following a brief stint at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point, Long Island, Constantine began his career in law enforcement as a deputy sheriff with the Erie County Sheriff's Department in 1960.

In 1962, Constantine joined the New York State Police (NYSP) as a uniform trooper. Over the course of his 34-year NYSP career, rose through all uniform and investigative ranks, including service as a regional troop commander, headquarters staff inspector, and full colonel in the post of Field Commander in charge of day-to-day operations of both the uniform and investigative branches of the NYSP.

Constantine was nominated by Governor Mario Cuomo in December 1986 to be Superintendent of the NYSP. It was the first time in 30 years that a member of that agency had risen through the ranks from Trooper to Superintendent. During his tenure as Superintendent, the 4,800-member agency earned numerous awards, including the Governor's Excelsior Award as the best quality agency in state government. In 1994, Constantine himself was selected as the Governor's Law Enforcement Executive of the Year. The labor union who represented the State Troopers at the time, often complained about his heavy-handed management style.

As Superintendent, Constantine instituted vigorous enforcement programs targeting drunk drivers who were responsible for a majority of the fatal accidents in the state. These high-visibility enforcement programs were credited for a major share in the subsequent reduction of highway fatalities.

Concerned about the impact of violent crime, Constantine instituted the NYSP Forensic Unit, the first of its kind by a domestic law enforcement agency. This program, based in state police headquarters, provided immediate resource support to local law enforcement authorities confronted with suspicious or unsolved murders and violent assaults. Specially trained state police homicide investigators successfully solved a series of serial killer incidents in Rochester, Long Island, Utica, and the Catskill area in the 1990s. The five serial killers arrested were responsible for the murder of 52 innocent victims.

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