THE NEXT GENERATION
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Andrea Lechleitner is an Honors high school English student who has
aspirations to be a DEA agent. She wrote the following paper about Professor
Constantine. Thomas A. Constantine: A Man of his Word Andrea Lechleitner 5/15/01  Have you ever wanted to know how to be successful in Law Enforcement?
Well, here's a hint. Take a look at Tom Constantine's professional career.
He knows just how to be successful. Thomas A. Constantine possesses
integrity, honesty, leadership and persistence, which have all been woven
together perfectly to make him very successful both as the former
administrator of the DEA and as the former
Superintendent of the New York State Police. One of the main qualities that Mr. Constantine possesses is honesty. This
quality is evident by how he comports himself when speaking publicly. In this
quote, which is to an assembly of law enforcement agencies in Mexico, he
shows just what the honest truth is. "...seven notorious, indicted drug
traffickers, men who are responsible for torture and murder, hundreds of
abductions and killings, corruption, violence, and drug addiction and the
government of Mexico has done nothing to apprehend them and there is no one
in Mexico we can trust to work with us to put a stop to them and their
crimes."Mr. Constantine knew that the truth had to be known, so he stepped up
and did it. As a result of hearing the truth, President William Clinton had
to send one-half of his cabinet members down to Mexico to "smooth ruffled
feathers" with the government of Mexico (O'Neill online).
Mr. Constantine always tells the truth, no matter what the outcome or
consequences will be. He also poses questions to people that will make them
think and come up with an honest answer. Some examples are: "How can we
expect our children to reject drugs when some authorities are telling them
that illegal drugs should no longer remain illegal, but should be used
instead to help the sick?", and "How can we expect our child to get a
straight answer about the harmfulness of drugs when adults endorse their
use?". Some other quotes are: "We cannot afford to send ambivalent messages
about drugs at this critical time, when millions of young Americans.", and
"...the message to our teenagers is clear: drug use is legitimate and holds
no stigma." These quotes represent that Mr. Constantine told the truth, even
when he was alone in his feelings. A few other good quotes show his honesty
shining through. For example: "I believe we all need to speak out vigorously
to accurately portray the California and Arizona initiatives for what they
really are - - dishonest attempts to legalize drugs.", "...the legalization
of drugs will result in
more damage to families and communities.", and finally, "It is up to the DEA
to get the facts out and to educate Americans about the dangers of drug
legalization." ("National Families in Action" online). A related quality that Mr. Constantine possesses is integrity. This
quality comes out in his commencement speech to the graduates of Stonehill
College in 1997, the very first rule of his "Seven Rules to Live a Just
Life", was to always conduct yourself in an ethical fashion, and in order to
do hat, you need to have integrity. To make sure that you live by your
ethics, you need to ask yourself these questions: 1) Would you be proud to
have someone sitting beside you for eight hours, hearing everything you
discuss, and privy to all your decision making? 2) Did you conduct yourself
in a
professional manner? 3) Did you use fairness as a guide for your actions?
4) Did you put in a full day of work? 5) Have you treated everyone equally?
("In His Own Words" online)."As in all criminal prosecutions it is our moral, legal, and ethical
obligation to ensure that all individuals are afforded a fair trial and that
all evidence, including exculpatory evidence, is made available for review by
the presiding judge(s)" ("Interview with Tom Constantine" online). This quote
shows that Mr. Constantine always puts his integrity first and foremost in
his life. Terry O'Neill, his
personal friend, said that Tom prides himself on his integrity. That quality,
which happened to make him an outsider in the Clinton Administration,
actually led him to the British government, where he serves as the Oversight
Commissioner for the Reform of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern
Ireland (O'Neill e-mail message). Another, more important quality that Mr. Constantine possesses is
leadership. Ever since the beginning of is career, he has always been in
charge of something or someone, which has helped him in the job of
Administrator of the DEA. In Mr. Constantine's days before the DEA, he was
involved with the New York State Police. In 1962, he entered the NYSP as a
uniformed trooper. He then continued on to be
a Narcotics and Major Crime Investigator, Sergeant, Lieutenant in Charge of
Recruiting, Captain of the Statewide Organized Crime Task Force, Major, Troop
Commander, Staff Inspector, and Assistant Deputy Superintendent. As you can see, Mr. Constantine was always being promoted into bigger
and better positions. As the Superintendent, Mr. Constantine oversaw a
statewide law enforcement agency, which had around forty-eight hundred
uniformed and investigative members and civilian support personnel. Among many other awards, Mr. Constantine received the Governor's Law
Enforcement Executive of the Year award in 1994 Mr. Constantine was
appointed Administrator of the DEA on March 11, 1994 by President William
Clinton ("The DEA Administrator" online). As Administrator, Mr. Constantine
oversaw a workforce of seven thousand special agents and support staff. There
were offices in all fifty states, and offices in over fifty foreign
countries. Mr. Constantine also successfully created new programs to promote
closer cooperation with the state and local law enforcement agencies
("Constantine's Circus" online). The appointing of Mr. Constantine as
Administrator of the DEA by President Clinton, was most likely the best
appointment he ever made. It also happened at exactly he right time because
the productivity of the DEA was rapidly declining, and the illegal drug usage
was rapidly increasing ("Tom Constantine, Participant or Dupe: Another
Perspective on the Decline of the DEA" online). Some of Mr. Constantine's achievements as the Administrator include:
advanced rigorous integrity and ethical standards for DEA employees and new
recruits, he decentralized Headquarters decision-making authority, he also
streamlined Headquarters operations. All of those items allowed the
redistribution of Special Agents to the field to address the problem of
violent drug crimes, which
negatively affected the quality of life in the United States of America.
("The DEA Administrator" online). Mr. Constantine is looked up to and admired because he is a simple,
yet impassioned man. He is also a good husband and father, a mentor to many
(O'Neill online). Mr. Constantine is able to relate to the other people of
the DEA as equal officers, and not as a boss (Olechwski online). Mr.
Constantine goes about solving his problems in a logical way. He thinks about
he problem, analyzes it, and then decides what will help him achieve his main
goal. He is also not afraid to ask for help from former administrators and
former officers (O'Neill e-mail message). All of these qualities combine
together to make up his third quality. Leadership. The fourth, and final quality that Mr. Constantine possesses is
persistence. This quality is brought about by what he has personally
accomplished in his life. For example: while he was working full-time, he
supported his family, completed his undergraduate work, and he also became
one of the first five to get a degree while serving on the State Police
Force. Mr. Constantine also completed academic
work toward his doctorate degree. In the Law Enforcement area, he created
graduate programs for members of the State Police force, and he also managed
to raise the higher education requirements for its new recruits
("Constantine's Circus" online). Mr. Constantine received his bachelor's
degree from State University College at Buffalo, he received his master's at
State University of New York at Albany, and he also completed some work in a
doctoral program ("The DEA Administrator" online).If you are considering joining the DEA, you will need a college degree,
and at least one year of graduate school, just like Mr. Constantine has (U.S.
Department of Labor 367-368). If you want to join the DEA, Mr. Thomas A.
Constantine is a very good example of all the qualities that you will need.
Of them, the most important are: honesty, integrity, leadership, and
persistence. Mr. Constantine is also a good mentor for your career in the
DEA.  Questions? E-mail Us! CONSTANTINE'S CIRCUS, INC. PO Box 7223 Capitol Station Albany, NY 12224-0223 518-465-4413 518-465-3200 FAX |