New Crime Fighter In Town
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posted by Bob at Sunday, February 18, 2007
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A new crimefighter in town
At 33 and as the first woman to hold the title, Minnesota's new U.S. attorney brings a characteristic intensity to her job.
BY ELLEN TOMSON
Pioneer Press
JEAN PIERI, Pioneer Press
Rachel Paulose, 33, is the youngest U.S. attorney of all those currently serving in the 93 districts under the federal Dept. of Justice and the first woman in the position in Minnesota.
Rachel Paulose is a U.S. attorney who is comfortable quoting Bible verses. She believes it is a blessing to live in a country where a person can take on crime, terror and corruption.
The daughter of immigrants who support her every move, she works herself hard, shorts herself on sleep and sacrifices her social life in the pursuit of justice.
Meeting her for the first time, you might not detect her underlying strengths. She easily disarms you.
Glimpsed down a hallway at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis, she's a slight, 5-foot-6-inch figure who moves gracefully from an open office doorway. She's wearing her dark hair long down her back. She's smiling as she offers a greeting and a handshake.
"The greatest reward is seeing the impact we have on people's lives," she says. That's the kind of statement that normally prompts eye rolls. But Paulose's intensity sidetracks questions about her sincerity.
At 33, she's the youngest current U.S. attorney and the first woman to serve in the position in Minnesota.
She manages some 50 assistant U.S. attorneys in an office that examines and seeks to successfully prosecute the most repulsive and harmful of crimes.
She points with pride to the more-than-20-year prison sentences obtained by her office in three child pornography cases during the past six months and then, referring to predators as yet uncaught, she promises: "We're going to find you, hold you, and you're going to do a long time in federal prison."
"The crimes have become more depraved, more heinous, and the victims are subjected to particularly sadistic forms of abuse that the general public would find unimaginable," she says. "The reality is that good people don't know about this because they're not online looking."
'THIS COUNTRY IS A GIFT TO THE WORLD'
PPaulose (pronounced "Paul-us") was 8 when she asked for a Time magazine subscription for her next birthday. She was in elementary school when she organized her first political rally.
Her mother recalls, "She was always interested in understanding what was going on around her — and wanted to make a difference.
"She's very strong in what she believes in, whether it is moral values, spiritual values or effects on society," Lucy Paulose says.
Rachel Paulose's family background and faith are keys to understanding her patriotism and the passion she brings to her work.
"I have a great appreciation of how special this country is," she says. "I believe this country is a gift to the world."
Her grandfather, a government official in India, came to the United States to study theology in the 1960s.
"I have a hard time talking about this without becoming emotional," Paulose says, her eyes suddenly welling with tears. Her family, she explains, "came here hoping for the American dream at a time when the Communists were basically sweeping across Southeast Asia."
Her last name is Greek and derives from a branch of her ancestry that included a Greek Orthodox bishop. Her first name and middle name, Kunjummen, are drawn from the Semitic origins of ancestors from the Middle East. But her family converted to Christianity, most likely in the first century after St. Thomas is said to have traveled to India. She and her family currently attend Plymouth Bible Chapel.
Paulose's grandparents Daniel and Sara Kunjummen have lived in Bloomington for 40 years, but she grew up in Findlay, Ohio, a 30-minute drive from Toledo. Paulose graduated from high school a year early, and the family moved to Minnesota after her mother received job offers here and Paulose was accepted to the University of Minnesota.
Paulose's father, Joseph, is a Hopkins school district administrator and former economics professor in India. Her mother owns Home Electronic Specialists in Hudson, Wis.
They raised Rachel and her younger sister, Elizabeth Schulte, with the idea "you have to have a passion for what you do and should make a difference," says Lucy Paulose. "Enjoy the journey, but make this a better place."
Paulose's parents, as well as an extended family of more than 100 relatives who have settled in the United States, have always provided a tight network of support.
While in high school, Paulose was selected for the American Legion-sponsored Girls State and elected governor in the mock government and citizenship program. She recalls her parents' patience when she changed her mind three times about what she wanted to wear after she was elected Girls State "governor." They drove home to retrieve each outfit.
Throughout high school, college and even while preparing for the bar exam, Paulose's parents stayed up late with her while she studied, providing help, snacks and hot chocolate. After Paulose was accepted to both Harvard and Yale law schools, an uncle accompanied her on a trip to New England to help her decide between the two. When Paulose moved briefly to Washington to work for the Justice Department, another uncle helped her find a place to live and helped her move in. And Paulose's grandfather, who was disappointed when she chose law over medicine after three years as a pre-med student, nevertheless indicated his pride in her by providing her registration fee for law school.
Many family members were present at her Yale Law School commencement to see Paulose, chosen as the law school's representative, carry a banner in the procession.
"So many people in my family had invested in me," she says. "It was the culmination of years and years of hard work by all of us."
'ETHICAL IN EVERYTHING SHE DOES'
IIn just 10 years, Paulose has compiled an impressive record. After graduating from Yale Law School, she snagged a sought-after position in Minneapolis as a law clerk to James Loken, chief judge of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She worked for four years in private practice for the Dorsey & Whitney law firm and served in the U.S. Justice Department as an Attorney General's Honors Program trial attorney for the civil rights division.
She also prosecuted criminal and civil cases as an assistant U.S. attorney for Minnesota; served as senior counsel to Acting Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, and as the Justice Department's special counsel for health care fraud.
Nevertheless, her appointment a year ago as U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota was headline news and raised a few eyebrows.
The appointment departed from normal practice. For the first time in decades, an interim U.S. attorney was sent directly from the Department of Justice to fill the job in Minnesota. Traditionally, interim appointees have come from within the Minnesota office, promoted either from first assistant U.S. attorney or chief of the criminal division.
"There were plenty of women who wanted that job — and plenty of men, too," says A.M. "Sandy" Keith, former chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Keith and others who know Paulose describe her as well qualified for her job, which includes taking on corrupt public officials and law enforcement officers — "policing the police," as Paulose describes it.
Hank Shea, a fellow at the University of St. Thomas Law School's Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, worked with Paulose from 1999 to 2002. The fact that she began working in the U.S. attorney's office as a law student and now leads the office, he says, "shows a real commitment to public service on her part."
"Her integrity is unbelievably high, and she is ethical in everything she does. For the top federal attorney in a state, there are no more important qualities than those."
Paulose works 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week, and forces herself to leave her office no later than 8 p.m. on some days by scheduling workouts. She's serious in every endeavor she undertakes, including exercise. Kickboxing and karate are her favorite sports.
"I've had my share of injuries," she says during a recent interview in a corner conference room at her office. In fact, her injuries have been numerous, including a concussion and broken collarbone.
She grins as she extends one foot to show the location of a scar and a swollen ankle.
She's normally media shy, prefers press releases to interviews and is particular about how she is portrayed. She refused to have her picture taken in a non-work venue, for example.
"I'm wearing a suit, and I'm going to be in my office," she stated firmly. Her suggestion for the background of the photo? The American flag.
'A FAST LEARNER'
PPaulose graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a Truman Scholar.
Keith met her while she served as a student representative on the university's Board of Regents. Even then, Paulose was a newsmaker, objecting to proposed tuition increases, which she argued would deny poor students access to the university.
Keith, a Yale Law School graduate, became her mentor. He is executive director of the Rochester Downtown Alliance and displays her photo in his office.
After law school, Paulose clerked for Loken from 1997 to 1998. Loken, a Harvard Law School graduate and former longtime partner at Faegre & Benson, receives about 300 applicants for the three clerk positions he offers each year.
"I look for academic superstardom, undergraduate years as well as law school, first and foremost, because that's the most likely guarantor of someone who can do the incredibly difficult analytical work required," says the judge, who assigns his clerks separate cases. He estimates he judges 600 to 800 cases a year, writing 50 to 60 opinions to be published in law books, in addition to writing shorter orders and papers not requiring published opinions.
Because the work is intense and his office is small — just himself, a secretary and the three clerks — he says, "I also look for people who would be fun to spend a year with." Paulose's interview was "delightful and her zeal pretty apparent," he recalls.
Paulose is his "first former clerk to be confirmed by the (U.S.) Senate for anything," Loken notes. She is also likely the only one working as a prosecutor. Most former clerks are in private practice.
"She's come a long way very, very rapidly, and the reason is she's very, very competent and can do the job, obviously," Keith says. "She's tough, a fast learner, very hard working, disciplined, focused and is very, very skilled."
She is also adept at figuring out how an office or organization functions, how to get to know the right people in the right places and what she needs to learn to move up, he says.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appointed Paulose as Minnesota's acting U.S. attorney a year ago. She replaced Thomas Heffelfinger, whom she had worked under previously.
Gonzales has fired some top federal prosecutors, replacing them with attorneys regarded as more conservative and, some critics say, less likely to buck Washington. Some current and former prosecutors allege the changes are an attempt by the Bush administration to curb prosecutors' independence.
The selection of U.S. attorneys has always been a political process, and while Paulose's name is sometimes mentioned in the context of the recent firing and hiring controversy, the circumstances of her appointment and confirmation were different.
Heffelfinger, her predecessor, was expected to continue in the job but surprised the Justice Department when he announced his resignation.
"I left for personal and financial reasons and delayed announcing my departure until the last minute to avoid being a lame duck," Heffelfinger says.
Unlike other new appointees named by Gonzales last March, Paulose was named to her position in mid-February, following Heffelfinger's announcement. And, unlike some other appointees, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate (in December). Her investiture ceremony is set for next month.
'A SENSE OF MISSION'
TThe six priorities of her office include terrorism, violent crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime, government and corporate corruption, and civil rights, especially as they relate to human trafficking and housing discrimination.
Her job is a vantage point for Minnesota's worst problems and also involves anticipating worst-case scenarios. As she refers to two high-profile cases charging terrorism, for example, she notes the state's "points of vulnerability," which include a portion of the longest unarmed border in the world, a trucking industry that is among the most active in the country and an inland harbor that is one of the largest in the world.
Ordinary citizens sometimes need to be educated about crime that they may not notice but is taking its societal toll nevertheless. Several months ago, she co-wrote an editorial in an effort to make people more aware of the negative effects of methamphetamine, "the Number 1 narcotics threat in Minnesota." The manufacture and use of the drug harms not just users, she says, but also families and children because people are making it in their garages and homes.
She also wants people to know that human trafficking, a form of modern slavery for sex and labor, is more relevant to Minnesota than most of us realize. Recent immigrant populations, particularly Hmong and Somali, are especially vulnerable. Her office recently indicted one case and is investigating several others in an effort to shut down and deter smuggling rings of human traffickers.
In one case, a professional couple held someone from a developing country as a worker, against the person's will, and paid the person nothing. In other instances, young women are held as sexual slaves and "tortured or threatened to prevent them from escaping," she says.
Paulose refers to her job in the public sector, which is a lot less lucrative than many of the private practice jobs held by her peers, as "a privilege" and "an opportunity to serve." She especially thrives, she says, when she works with others who also "have a sense of mission."
As an appointee with Republican ties, she could be replaced when President Bush leaves office. So, what might be next for Paulose? Politics?
"No!" she says. But she would love to stay in public service and in Minnesota.
She cites a Bible verse, Micah 6:8: " 'What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. …'
"When I keep my focus on those things, good opportunities appear."
Ellen Tomson can be reached at etomson@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5455.
From the brief profile that written of Ms. Paulose she sounds like she could be just what the citizens of St.Paul need. She might be the one that can help go after the corruption that has been taking place within the city with their officials. She most definately sounds like a highly educated and sharp individual. Lets hope she makes a difference and is sincere about going after corruption.
Don't hold your breath, all these government assholes are in bed together. None of them gonna do nothin!
For Blogs to be effective it is prudent to have the URL
www.usdoj.gov/usao/mn Rachael is not accessible altho james.lackner@usdoj.gov is
Further Robert Small former US Attorney is now Hennepin Co.Judge.
SAMO-SAMO-SAMO-GOOD LUCK
eMAIL MUST NOW BE PRESERVED FOREVER ON YOUR ISP PROVIDERS.
FORENSIC EVIDENCE?????
A person needs to think postive to get positive results. Negative thinking will get you negative results. Also until she proves to be like SOME of the other officials she should get the chance to show what she is going to do in her new position, which will take some time. If you start out bad mouthing her before she has even had a chance to get settled in her postion as U.S. attorney she will also feel the same way about you and your creditability.
Nancy
I agree with Nancy, let's give this woman a chance.
I posted the story because for me it is a glimmer of hope.
So has Sharon started emailing her with the long e-mails that allege anything and everything. I think that Rachel Paulose is the only attorney, politican, or bureaucrat who doesn't currently get her musings.....
That's Sharon Anderson's business. As for her "musings", they are incidents that ocurred in her life inasmcuh as they were corrupt and evil incidents, it's her business, not yours. Why do you care what Sharon Anderson is emailing or posting? Get over it!
You're uninformed, uneducated and do the work of your adversaries by not researching anything. Someone is nice looking or gets a puff peice in the paper, you jump on board. Except if they're a Democrat, which in your case may be your only friends when you learn how to work the system peoperly and show the pattern of discrimination on the code enforcement sites.
This bitch is pro eminent domain and would have the Feds take your property for their likings whatever that may be.
http://www.mcaa-mn.org/viewnewsletter.aspx?NewsletterID=50
Stop looking at the skirt dumbass and try being consistent with your positions and act like advocates and not teenage boys.
Do you post in your "off time" or do you get paid and do this on the clock for the city?
Since I run my own business, I guess I'm always on the clock. If I worked for the city, I'd kill myself.
Still, what I wrote above stands. Ask about that. How the hell can these retards accomplish anything if they can't be consistent or even know who they're up against?
So then, enlighten us with your alleged knowledge.
11:43 or is it EM?
Enlighten us! That is what this Town Hall Meeting is about. People getting together to seek the truth.
Looking foward to that next D6 meeting. :-)
My invision of 11:43 is that the individual is a wanna be attorney/or a research analysis that will not enlighten anyone with facts due to their lack of knowledge on just that "facts". A person with any type of respect for themselves or others that is actually self employed would not refer to others as a bunch of retards, but instead would offer the information (facts)the people here are seeking and in this persons opinion lacking. So lets see what this intelligent person offers us next if anything, maybe if they feel they are so politically correct they would also like to furnish us with their identity.
Nancy
Since this guy knows it all, maybe he could tell us why the city council members want to hide behind a judge rather have their deposition taken. If they believe they have done such a good job and they beleive that the landlords were really deserving of the code enforcement treatment that was metted out, why not take credit for it in an election year?
*This is what caught my eye. I especially like that last statement about corrupt government officials, civil rights, and housing discrimination. In fact, almost everything below suggest to me she is coming for you MAGNER and others.
Re-copied---Rachel Paulose is a U.S. attorney who is comfortable quoting Bible verses. She believes it is a blessing to live in a country where a person can take on crime, terror and corruption.
TThe six priorities of her office include terrorism, violent crime, drug trafficking, cybercrime, government and corporate corruption, and civil rights, especially as they relate to human trafficking and housing discrimination.
If EM stands for Ex-Minneapolis dweller- you got me.
If this group is about protecting the interests of rental property owners (small), then anyone you support or get behind should be clear that they are with you. This woman has a record of supporting the expanded definition of eminent domain which is pretty much an egregious slap in the face of what you, supposedly, stand for.
If the interest of this group is about pissing elected and city officials, then you still let her slide because at a tune of about 130,000 dollars a year, she'll be one of the biggest individual hogs at the public trough.
Either way, jumping behind her because she is pretty or can drop a few bible quotes is what people who are blinded (or horny) do.
Every elected or appointed official has a record that will indicate how favorable or unfavorable they will look at and address your issue.
Now that I've called you out, you will no doubt try to focus on what I wrote instead what its telling you.
What is D6? When was the last gathering? And, why wasn't I invited?
2:48, even if she advocates eminent domain, to what degree. Some eminent domain is good. Like in the instants of recovering undeveloped property that just sits in limbo for years and years. Of coarse one should be compensated for the property. That doesn't happen when this Cities code compliance officers attack you. They rape you financially then tear your house down.
Your link did not mention her name once that I seen.
and whats this "pretty" or "horny" stuff... there isn't even a picture of her here.
If being "blinded" means faith in God, then get me them there dark glasses because I have seen the light brother!
"blinded" means following someone who can speak the word buts acts in direct contradiction.
It also means that because we are of Faith, doesn't necessarily mean we have the same values upfront. Everyone says they value life but, some justify abortion, others justify the death penalty. The bible makes no distinction.
So, when I hear someone quoting the bible, it doesn't get them an automatic pass from me that they're OK. I remember something about the devil being cunning and appealing. Always look beneath the surface.
Hi All,
I noticed about the same things one other poster commented on here.
#1. Corrupt government officials; this in and of it self suggest she believes there is corrupt officials.
#2. Civil Rights and Housing.. There is only one fight going on that I know of with any substantial allegations and that's the one we talk about here often.
#3.Rachel Paulose is a U.S. attorney who is comfortable quoting Bible verses. She believes it is a
blessing to live in a country where a person can take on crime, terror and corruption.
*WOW! if she hasn't been reading here already, she should, she'd be mighty proud of her fellow citizens. And if she is an adversary maybe she might learn a thing or two.
3:43, What strikes me most is that she knows that walking in humility pleases the Lord. Your definition of being blinded is that she is not what she says she is. Is that really what this is all about because I find it hard to believe that someone, such as yourself, would come here and lay it on so thick and with so much effort and malice to discredit her. Do you really think that she is able to do all these dirty deeds, that you imply she is about to, behind everyone's back. She will say one thing and then turn and do another.
I doubt highly that you really find it offensive the comments that she is a nice looking lady. From what you have posted I can actually see you in a hard hat whistling at all the business woman going past. Is that it, she's the first woman to capture this post?
If you really need to see true corruption and are hell bent on fighting it, then look up Steve Magner and company and see all the goodies that go along with his job.
what's wrong with whistling at the business women walking past? The whistle is hopefully just the start of a "whole lot more."
I still feel this new US attorney deserves a chance to get settled into her new position before her reputation is attacked. I also read the entire link that was posted in regards to her and what she is about and was unable to find her name mentioned once throughout so I read it a second time to see if I missed something and was still unable to find any info on her. Another way to look at the situation is she can't be any worse then the ones that have had the US attorney position whom failed to even look into the corruption allegations that have been taking place for quite some time now. I am a female so I don't think she is turning me on in any other way than hope for the future of the city.
Nancy
I'm 3:43 and I didn't post anything else so I don't have a bunch of posts in which can judge me by. I looked at what was written and can honestly say that people who profess their faith the loudest are the ones who usually end up in the most non-Christian criminal situations. Jerry Falwell, Ted Haggerty, James Dobson, Mac Hammond, Jesse Jackson, Jim Baker, Jimmy Swaggert and George W. Bush.
All perfect examples of why you don't publicly mix your politics with your faith. That's what they do in those countries that are trying to kill us now.
Build YOUR own personal relationship with Christ. Walk with him and give testimony when appropriate. Don't use it to advance your career or financial well-being.
That's all I'm saying. A government official answers to who? The Government.
Anyone want to entertain themselves, do a little research on the rash of US Attorneys that have been relaesed over the last few months, and look at the ones they're bringing in. If it doesn't bother you, it should. The time to be comfortable and trusting of our government is over. We the People have a job to do and that's to check them on their activites. No matter how religeous they SOUND.
And who has been comfortable and trusting of the government recently? Nobody I know has been able to trust them or feel comfrotable for a long time!
Some people are very confused about "religion". Talk about nutty ideas. Other countries mix jihad and false gods with their terroristic tactics of either believe in their god or die. I don't see christians going around blowing up buildings and beheading opposing beliefs. You can check your history book for some of the reasons our forefathers came to this country. To Compare with other countries extreme holy war is much like the hand-tied-behind-your-back scheme to sell your house to the buddy of the one who proclaims him king shit of saint paul.
Do you want to play king-of-the-hill Magner?
In my humble opinion war is the opposite of God. We mix politics with war, rumors of war, threat of war, debates of war. We spit on soldiers, picket, yell, stage a sit down all in the name of war. War has costs billions in dollars and millions of lives. War divides, burns, steals lives and trust. But we still keep it in politics.
Some say to keep God out of politics. God saves, keeps His promises, is truthful, shows the way and the end of the story, gives light in darkness, forgives and fulfills.
Which one would you rather mix politics with?
Horrible comparison.
War IS politics. Faith is not.
Politics is about compromise and who gets what. Faith is not about compromise.
Again, war is politics. Its the escalation that begins with talks and ends with certainty.
Because Faith (at least mine) is not compromisable, it belongs no where in politics. In politics, we have to help the christains, jews, muslims and the never-practice-anything all equally if they are Americans. Though my faith tells me that three out of the four will never get the glory.
Corrupt politics can be cleaned. Corrupt religion grows.
--------
In the old days religion was used to justify inhumane slavery and wife beating. It never mentioned abortion. As a matter of fact, children were routinly sacraficed. Religion has started, continued and expanded some of the greatest wars in history.
Even today in America, many who proclaim to be christians promote hate, intolerance and other non-christian activity. Just turn on Fox News or any cable news show and you'll see them judging those who are POLITICALLY opposite of them.
When was the last time you saw a good Methodist and Catholic debate practices?
Did you hear the one about the Catholic and Protestant who were picked up by the Islamic cabbie?
A priest, a rabbi and a saint paul council memeber walked into a bar.
Religion and Politics. Soon all will have no choice.
You go back in time to pick apart "religion" that has nothing to do with biblical knowledge and less to do with some grafted into the root of the olive tree. Some were waiting in the wings to take control and time went on. Comparing will get you know where and indeed will not get you where you want to be. Time moves on, do you know the signs of the time?
I do know that we all do have choices in which we can make for ourselves and our lives, and with no help from the city of St.Paul officials I made the choice for a better life that doesn't include St.Paul. That would be my recommandation for all, get out before you have no choice, the city is not looking in the best interest of anyone other then themselves on the most part.
We all have the right to our own beliefs in religion, that is one of the constitutional rights an individual hasn't lost YET. We also have a right to our own beliefs and feelings on the war situation and no everyone not going to agree with the next person, but you still can have your own thoughts.
Oops forgot to sign my name to that last post..
Nancy
Now that would be a sight. Cars bumper to bumper with mattresses strapped on the hood and trucks overloaded with moving boxes in a mad dash to exit the city.
That would be a sight to see, but you know what, that probaly wouldn't even wake them up. Maybe that is the goal the city has in mind. Then they could start screening all residences and pick and choose who lives within the city.
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