Thomas C. Wales
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Thomas C. Wales (1952–2001) was a federal prosecutor and gun control advocate from Seattle, Washington, who was the victim of an unsolved assassination.
Wales was born in Boston, Massachusetts. After his graduation from Milton Academy, he went to Harvard University and then to Hofstra Law School, where he graduated with distinction in 1979.
He worked as a U.S. Attorney in Seattle and specialized on the investigation and prosecution of fraud in banking and business. As a community volunteer, he was active in civic organizations and served as a trustee of the Federal Bar Association. He was president of an anti-gun organization, Washington CeaseFire ([1]). He died on October 12, 2001, aged 49, one day after having been shot by an unknown assassin. He was shot while sitting at a computer in his basement. His murderer apparently shot him and fled through Wales' back yard.
In the aftermath, speculation about the murder and its possible relationship to his job or anti-gun activism has been rampant, but apparently no solid leads have been found. There is an open reward of one million U.S. dollars for information leading to the conclusion of the case.
The Seattle Times reported that in 2006 two homes and vehicles belonging to a man whom Wales had prosecuted were searched by the FBI in further investigation of the murder. The owner of the homes and vehicles was a pilot who, with others, Wales had prosecuted in a fraud case. Charges against the pilot and others were dismissed but the corporation they ran was convicted. The pilot later filed a malicious prosecution claim seeking $125,000 in legal fees but the complaint was dismissed.
In his memory, the Thomas C. Wales Foundation ([2]) was set up to support civil commitment.
