Gregory W. Kehoe ’79, ‘05HON On Leading By Example

When trial lawyer Greg Kehoe became U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida last year, it marked the latest milestone in a distinguished career guided by three enduring principles: follow the evidence, pursue the truth, and do the right thing.

Those guiding principles were forged as Kehoe grew up in the close-knit community of Rockaway Beach, Queens. “My siblings, friends, and I learned by example,” he says. “At St. Francis de Sales grammar school, the Sisters of St. Joseph taught us about ethics and morality. People like Monsignor John J. Bracken showed us how to lead a life of sacrifice to the community. My Jewish friends had rabbis and others who helped them act with the greater good in mind. When everyone is taught to conduct themselves with the greater good as their guiding light, the entire community reflects that unspoken moral code. People act accordingly and take care of one another.”

 The call to uphold the greater good led Kehoe to St. John’s Law, where he made lifelong friends, found a trusted mentor in Vice Dean Emeritus Andrew J. Simons, and benefitted from the teaching and wisdom of Professor of Law Emeritus Vincent C. Alexander. With the support of then-Dean John Murphy, Kehoe entered public service after graduation as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Mark A. Costantino in the Eastern District of New York. “The faculty and administration of St. John’s Law cared for us,” he shares. “I felt that then as I do now. It’s a gift I will treasure forever.”

After his clerkship, Kehoe continued his federal service in the Honors Program at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and then as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida. Handling high-profile cases, he rose through the ranks to become First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. “I’ve been very lucky in my career,” Kehoe shares. “I’ve been involved in many interesting matters, beginning with the Cocaine Cowboys in Miami in the 1980s, to racketeering cases involving the Outlaw Motorcycle Club, and onto cases with the U.S. Army’s 8th Infantry Division in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany that involved U.S. soldiers selling NATO secrets to Warsaw Pact countries.”

Kehoe next served as counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee. A few years later, he joined the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, where he spent nearly five years prosecuting Bosnian war criminals. After a brief return to private practice, he again answered the call to public service, accepting a 10-month assignment as the U.S. Regime Crimes Liaison to the Iraqi Special Tribunal for Crimes Against Humanity. In that role, he led a team of international and U.S. specialists in gathering evidence to prosecute Saddam Hussein and members of his regime for crimes against humanity and genocide.

With the conclusion of his work as a war crimes prosecutor, Kehoe returned to private trial practice as a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig. He also returned to St. John’s Law, where he was the 2005 Commencement Speaker and received an Honorary Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. Two decades later, when another call to public service came, Kehoe answered it. He now leads a U.S. Attorney’s Office spanning more than 350 miles across Florida, with divisions in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando, and Tampa.

“Overall, my priorities are to keep our people safe to the best of our abilities,” Kehoe says. “When I became a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. Attorney there was Stanley Marcus, who is now a federal judge. He told me once that when you’re contemplating action, you always need to assess not only whether you can do something, but whether you should. I’ve never forgotten that advice, and I’ll continue to follow it as I guide other public servants in my new leadership role.”