| Bruce L. Castor, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 7, 2008[1] Serving with Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards |
|
| Preceded by | Tom Ellis |
| District Attorney of Montgomery County |
|
| In office January 3, 2000[2] – January 7, 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Michael Marino |
| Succeeded by | Risa Vetri Ferman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 24, 1961 |
| Political party | Republican Party |
| Alma mater | Lafayette College J.D., Washington and Lee University |
Bruce L. Castor, Jr. (born October 24, 1961) is an American lawyer and Republican politician from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Castor was district attorney for Montgomery County from January 2000 through January 2008 when he took a seat on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. In addition to his governmental role, Castor is a shareholder and director of the Blue Bell-based litigation firm of Elliott, Greenleaf & Siedzikowski.
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Castor began his legal career in 1985 as an intern in the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. Castor was subsequently hired as an Assistant District Attorney under Thomas E. Waters, Jr. Castor served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Sex Crimes Unit, Captain of the Major Crimes Unit, and Assistant District Attorney in charge of the Investigating Grand Jury before becoming Deputy District Attorney, Chief of the Trials Division in 1991.
Upon William Carpenter's departure to become a Montgomery County Judge in 1993, then-District Attorney Michael Marino appointed Castor as First Assistant District Attorney. In that position and later as District Attorney, Castor supervised wiretap and homicide investigations and successfully prosecuted a string of high-profile murders.
Upon becoming District Attorney in January 2000, Castor quickly developed a reputation for aggressive law enforcement. Castor used forfeiture laws and wiretaps to effectively prosecute drug dealers and break up drug rings. Castor was able to maintain a 98% conviction rate as District Attorney while continuing to prosecute high profile cases personally.
From 2000 to 2008, Castor served on the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association and was elected Vice-President of that organization in 2006 and President in 2007. In 2007 as his career in law enforcement was winding down, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the County and State Detectives' Association inducted Castor into the Pennsylvania Police Hall of Fame. In 2008, the Montgomery Bar Association recognized Castor's "Lifetime Achievement" in law enforcement, and the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association granted him its Meritorious Service Award.
In January 2008, Castor took a position at the Blue Bell, PA based litigation firm of Elliott, Greenleaf & Siedzikowski as a shareholder and director. One of his notable clients included Marko Jaric of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies who was accused of sexual assault in Philadelphia. Jaric was not charged in the case.[13] Castor also purportedly represented Villanova University Law School Dean Mark Sargent in connection with allegations that Sargent was involved in an investigation surrounding prostitution over the internet site Craigslist. Sargent also was not charged in the case. (Philadelphia Inquirer 7/2/09). Castor represented his former boss Michael Marino in connection with allegations involving a hunting accident where a person was killed. While Marino's nephew was convicted in the killing, no charges were brought against Marino. While attaining the honor multiple times as a prosecutor, outside of law enforcement Castor was named a "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" in 2011 in the category of "General Litigation" for his work representing civil and criminal clients where courtroom work may be necessary. Castor also serves on a commission of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to reform the Philadelphia Criminal Court system and on a Senate panel to improve the criminal justice system throughout the state. He was named a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America in 2010 an Honor Society for courtroom lawyers.
In 1999, incumbent district attorney Mike Marino left to run for County Commissioner with Jim Matthews. Castor secured the GOP nomination to replace Marino. Castor won election in 1999 and re-election in 2003. He led the ticket on both occasions and set a record for the highest vote total ever in a countywide contested election in 2003.
Castor ran for the GOP nomination for Pennsylvania Attorney General in 2004 against Republican Tom Corbett. Furious that he had lost endorsements of the southeastern GOP chairmen, Castor attacked Corbett and the county chairmen with allegations of backroom deals with Bob Asher,[14] the state's national GOP committeeman.[15][16] Castor and Asher had feuded for several years and Asher's prior conviction for bribery, racketeering, and conspiracy in 1986 became a subject of the campaign.[15][17]
In the end, Castor was unable to produce proof of any conspiracy against him and ran without the party endorsement in all but two counties, his home base in Montgomery County and Monroe County. Castor lost 52.8% to 47.2%, despite winning the southeastern counties, including his home in Montgomery County, where he took nearly 82.5% of the vote.[18][19]
In 2007, Castor challenged incumbent County Commissioner Tom Ellis, a one-time friend who had chaired Castor's campaigns in 1999 and 2003 but endorsed Corbett in 2004.[20] Early in the campaign, Castor commissioned a poll showing that Ellis, who had been hobbled by negative press surrounding an alleged domestic violence incident, would lose in a general election.[21] Ellis released his own poll to try to refute Castor's charges that he was unelectable.[22] In a six candidate field, Castor won the endorsement on the first ballot, but his preferred running mate, former State Rep. Melissa Murphy Weber, was narrowly defeated by incumbent Jim Matthews on the second ballot.
Initially, Castor was reluctant to run with Matthews saying he believed Matthews was "untrustworthy". However, amid widespread pressure that he would be spliting the party, Castor relented and ran with Matthews against former Democratic Congressman Joe Hoeffel and incumbent commissioner Ruth Damsker in the general election.[23]
During the campaign, some of Castor's earlier criticism of Matthews was raised by the Democrats, including financial support to Matthews from Bob Asher. Over Castor's objections, Matthews set up a separate campaign account from the Matthews/Castor account in order to collect contributions from Asher.[24] Castor stated that he would not accept campaign contributions from a convicted felon, nor would he benefit from any such contributions in urging Matthews not to take Asher's money.
On election day, Castor won, taking first place in the general election. His running mate placed third, giving the GOP control of the commission. This was the first time in at least 140 years that a Republican failed to capture both the first and the second spot. Castor and Matthews serve with Hoeffel, who finished second.[25] It has been a rocky relationship with Matthews and Hoeffel siding against Castor to set county policy. Castor responded by repeatedly making allegations of corruption against his fellow commissioners of mismanagement of county finances and the conduct of county business. Initially branded as "sour grapes" in most circles, over time Castor's allegations gained corroboration and eventually were accepted as accurate. Both parties cited these allegations as true during the 2011 campaign. Newspaper accounts of Castor accusing Matthews and Hoeffel of wrongdoing eventually led to Matthews' arrest in December, 2011 for lying to a grand jury.
In the 2011 race, all three incumbent commissioners, Castor, Hoeffel and Matthews, announced they would seek re-election. Castor secured the necessary support for the nomination and Matthews and Hoeffel dropped out of the race. Hoeffel and especially Matthews were hurt by bad publicity in 2010 that they were violating the states' Sunshine Act by holding private breakfast meetings to decide county policy. An Invesitgating Grand Jury began looking into the matter and reportedly also into pay to play allegations and whether Matthews used campaign contributions to pay personal expenses. In addition, the county financial health dramatically declined as expenditures outpaced revenues for which Hoeffel and Matthews were blamed since Castor had voted against all the county budgets. Political support for Matthews and Hoeffel's re-election eroded and they each were obliged to withdraw from the contest. In the primary, the Republicans nominated Castor along with his agreed upon runningmate, Lower Merion Township Commissioner Jenny Brown. The Democrats nominated Abington State Representative Josh Shapiro (former Deputy Speaker of the State House) and Whitemarsh Township Supervisor Leslie Richards. Castor and Brown began the race with little money while Shapiro and Richards were well financed. This disadvantage hampered the Castor/Brown team the entire campaign.
On November 8, 2011, voters in Montgomery County elected the team of Shapiro and Richards along with Castor as commissioners. Commissioner Castor will continue in the minority role when he is re-sworn in along with Mr. Shapiro and Mrs. Richards in January 2012. It is widely reported that Mr. Shapiro will become Chairman. Mr. Castor is the only of the incumbent commissioners to retain his seat in the wake of the "power sharing deal" between Hoeffel and Matthews and the various scandals which rocked the administration leading to allegations of Sunshine Act violations and a grand jury investigation into alleged "pay to play" and misuse of campaign contributions. The turbulent relationship among the incumbent commissioners with Castor acting the role of prosecutor against his fellow commissioners, well funded new faces on the Democrat ticket, a voter registration edge favoring Democrats, and an excellent turnout operation for the Shapiro/Richards team have been widely cited as reasons for the failure of Republican Jenny Brown to defeat one of the two Democrats. The 2011 election marks the first time the Democrats have technically taken two seats on the board. Though effectively, the "power sharing deal" between Matthews and Hoeffel gave de facto control to the Democrats since 2008.
Castor is an alumnus of The Meadowbrook School and Chestnut Hill Academy.
He earned his undergraduate degree in Government and Law from Lafayette College and a law degree from Washington and Lee University. He attended the FBI National Academy (National Law Institute) in 1993.
Castor married the former Elizabeth Pierce in 1989 and they are the parents of two children, Bruce III and Alexandra.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael Marino |
District Attorney of Montgomery County 2000 – 2008 |
Succeeded by Risa Vetri Ferman |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Tom Ellis |
Member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners with Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards 2008 – Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |