Thomas F. Reilly | |
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57th Massachusetts Attorney General | |
In office January 7, 1999 – January 17, 2007 |
|
Preceded by | Scott Harshbarger |
Succeeded by | Martha Coakley |
District Attorney of Middlesex County | |
In office January 3, 1991 – January 7, 1999 |
|
Preceded by | Scott Harshbarger |
Succeeded by | Martha Coakley |
Personal details | |
Born |
Springfield, Massachusetts |
February 14, 1942
Political party | Democratic |
Profession | Lawyer |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Thomas F. Reilly (born February 14, 1942) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 45th Massachusetts Attorney General. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts to Irish immigrant parents.
He was one of three candidates who sought the Democratic nomination for governor of Massachusetts in the 2006 election. Former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Deval Patrick won the party's nomination and the general election, defeating Reilly and businessman Chris Gabrieli.
Reilly, a native of Springfield, Massachusetts, described himself as a "misguided youth" the year his father, Mortimer "Murty" Reilly, was found dead at home from a heart attack when Reilly was 16. Reilly was arrested for public drunkenness when he was 20. By age 22, he was focused with driving ambition, much to the credit of his friend Wayne Budd's father, an ex-Marine turned policeman in Springfield who took him under his wing and encouraged him to go to school.
Reilly attended Cathedral High School in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated in 1959. After graduating high school, he went off to college in Nova Scotia at St. Francis Xavier University. He stayed there only a year, transferrng to American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he graduated on June 7, 1964. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.