Bruce Castor: Difference between revisions

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Bruce L. Castor, Jr. (b. October 24, 1961) is an American lawyer and Republican politician from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Castor currently serves as district attorney for Montgomery County, a post he has held since 1999.

Castor is a party-endorsed candidate for county commissioner in 2007. The other party-endorsed candidate is incumbent Jim Matthews. The two winners of the Republican primary will face former Democratic Congressman Joe Hoeffel and incumbent Democrat Ruth Damsker in the general election.

Legal Career

Prior to his election as district attorney, Castor served an assistant district attorney in the Major Crimes Unit and Sex Crimes Unit in Montgomery County. He investigated and prosecuted primarily homicide cases achieving much success. His work came to the attention of then-Montgomery County District Attorney Michael D. Marino who appointed Castor as First Assistant District Attorney in 1993. In that position, Castor supervised all wiretap and homicide investigations and personally prosecuted a string of high-profile murders gaining much notoriety.

Political Career

In 1999, incumbent district attorney Mike Marino left to run for the County Commission with James Matthews. Castor won the GOP nomination to replace him. Castor won in 1999 and won re-election in 2003.

Castor then ran for the 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 of backroom deals with Bob Asher, the state's national GOP committeeman and a convicted felon connected to Budd Dwyer. The result was a bitter campaign which Castor lost despite a strong showing in the southeastern counties.

Notable Cases

Bill Cosby - Castor declined to prosecute Cosby for sexual assault in 2005 after he determined that his office found "insufficient, credible and admissible evidence exists upon which any charge against Mr. Cosby could be sustained beyond a reasonable doubt."
Guy Sileo - murdered his business partner in the General Wayne Inn, serving a life sentence for first degree murder.
Caleb Fairley - sexually assaulted and murdered a mother and her child in his parents' shop, serving a double life sentence.

Personal

Castor is an alumnus of Chestnut Hill Academy.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Lafayette College and a law degree from Washington and Lee University.

References

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 ==Legal Career==
-Prior to his election as district attorney, Castor served an assistant district attorney in the Major Crimes Unit and Sex Crimes Unit in Montgomery County.
+Prior to his election as district attorney, Castor served an assistant district attorney in the Major Crimes Unit and Sex Crimes Unit in Montgomery County. He investigated and prosecuted primarily homicide cases achieving much success.  His work came to the attention of then-Montgomery County District Attorney Michael D. Marino who appointed Castor as First Assistant District Attorney in 1993.  In that position, Castor supervised all wiretap and homicide investigations and personally prosecuted a string of high-profile murders gaining much notoriety.
 ==Political Career==