Vorenberg Takes The Chair

When former Governor Michael S. Dukakis went shopping for a State Ethics Commission last fall, Harvard Law professor James Vorenberg '49, of Watergate prosecution fame, immediately came to mind.

An associate Dean of the Law School, Vorenberg has been involved in criminal investigations since the early '60s, when he served as director of President Johnson's Office of Criminal Justice.

"Jim has a long-standing, national reputation in the field of criminal investigation and corruption and is the perfect choice for the chairmanship," L. Scott Harshbarger, counsel to the commission, said recently.

Vorenberg gained his reputation as crime-fighter while serving as associate special prosecutor in the Watergate investigations. After assisting Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox with the hiring of investigators, Vorenberg worked full-time on the Watergate case until the fall of 1973, when the so-called "Saturday Night Massacre" left Cox jobless. Vorenberg resigned following the Cox firing, but returned to the case on a part-time basis under Leon Jaworski. Vorenberg remained with the prosecutor's office until former President Nixon's resignation in August, 1974.

In 1977, the State Senate appointed Vorenberg chief counsel to the special committee on ethics chaired by State Sen. Chester G. Atkins. As counsel, Vorenberg handled the senate's investigation of State Senators Joseph J.C. DiCarlo and Ronald MacKenzie, who had been convicted for extortion earlier in the year. The commission's inquiries forced MacKenzie to resign his seat and led to DiCarlo's expulsion.

One of three gubernatorial appointees to the Commonwealth's new commission, Vorenberg is responsible for running its bi-weekly meetings and wielding the gavel at all commission inquiries. "We have the whole field of conflict of interest, bribery and corruption in our jurisdiction," Vorenberg notes. "We intend to fulfill our intended role, for the history of this legislation makes it clear that neither the public nor the legislature would find it acceptable if we became merely a receptacle for files."