Louis O'Neill
Encyclopedia
Louis F. O’Neill is an American diplomat and attorney. An expert on Russia/Eurasia conflicts and security, he served as Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Ambassador and Head of Mission to Moldova
(2006–2008). O’Neill worked on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff (2005–2006), and as Special Assistant for Russian Affairs to Secretary of State Colin Powell
(2004–2005) when O’Neill was a non-political, non-partisan White House Fellow.
Before his diplomatic service, O’Neill served under Manhattan District Attorney
Robert Morganthau as an Assistant District Attorney in the Special Prosecutions Bureau. After law school, he worked in the private sector as an attorney for White & Case, LLC and as General Counsel and Head of Business Development for an investment/venture capital fund in New York City.
, where he was Co-Captain of the Stanford Cycling Team, leading it to 3rd place in National Competition. Later he completed a Master's Degree at Stanford's Center for Russian and East European Studies and graduated cum laude from the Harvard Law School
.
in the Special Prosecutions Bureau. He investigated and prosecuted numerous cases of white-collar and organized crime, frauds and scams. His most widely reported case involved a ring of women who would, for money, repeatedly marry foreign-born men to facilitate immigration fraud. One woman married 27 times in this way.
Another important case resulted in the take-down of an organized crime ring whose bankruptcy and auctioneering fraud resulted in at least $27.7 million in thefts from distressed businesses that were being restructured or liquidated., O’Neill also investigated an explosion in a Chelsea manufacturing plant that injured dozens of people and closed West 21st Street. This case led to enhanced safety compliance in the industry.
Louis O’Neill specialized in tracking down elusive white-collar criminals on the lam, and brought number of them back to the United States to face prosecution, including a German man who defrauded hundreds of hotel patrons and a Russian man who ran a fraudulent immigration law firm.
Following the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center
, the Special Prosecutions Bureau investigated and prosecuted nearly 200 cases of "electronic looting" against New York's Municipal Credit Union
. Each defendant stole at least $7,500 from the bank in the chaos following the attacks. O’Neill handled two dozen of these cases.
He also handled smaller, highly emotional cases where vulnerable, elderly or mentally incapacitated victims were preyed upon for their money.
.
He was assigned to the State Department as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Special Assistant on Russian Affairs. He covered issues of counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics cooperation and also was tasked with special projects, including as the U.S. Expert for the OSCE Fact-Finding Mission to the Occupied Territories Surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, whose report he co-authored.
, Belarus, Moldova
and the countries of the Caucasus
.
as OSCE Ambassador and Head of Mission to Moldova.
The OSCE Mission to Moldova's Mandate calls for facilitating the achievement of a lasting, comprehensive political settlement of the Transnistria
n conflict in all its aspects, as well as advancing human and minority rights, democratic transformation, freedom of the press and fighting the scourge of human trafficking. It also requires ensuring transparency of the removal and destruction of Russian ammunition and armaments from Moldova.
Ambassador O’Neill pushed hard for fulfillment of this Mandate – which was approved by all OSCE participating States – and for reconciliation of the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides. He brought them together in a seminar on Confidence and Security Building measures in October 2007, on the margins of which the 5+2 negotiating format (OSCE, Russia, Ukraine, EU, US, Moldova and Transnistria) met for the first time in some 18 months. O’Neill did much to encourage the sides to disarm, including providing financial aid for the destruction of surplus weapons, and organizing seminars on proper storage and stockpile management.
His efforts to improve Moldova's human rights landscape and make it more attractive to the Transnistrian separatists included enhancing press freedoms, defending the rights of opposition parties, improving anti-torture legislation, strengthening the rule of law and judiciary, protecting freedom of assembly, and guarding the linguistic rights of schoolchildren in Transnistria.
Ambassador O’Neill devoted significant attention to improving elections throughout Moldova. This included marshaling the Chişinău
diplomatic core to actively monitor the Gagauz Bashkan election in December 2006 and running an observation mission there,,. He also played an active role in covering the Moldovan national local elections in June 2007, helping de-escalate a violent situation at a Moldovan polling place on the left bank of the Nistru.
Ambassador O’Neill also placed a priority on battling gender violence and human trafficking, very serious problems in Moldova.
O'Neill used creative approaches to bring the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides together. These included a very popular rock festival
on the Nistru river with bands from both sides, and a photo contest.
(FLAS) grants at Stanford and Harvard for the advanced study of Russian. He gave numerous speeches while OSCE Ambassador in Moldova, with representative examples here.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
Ambassador and Head of Mission to Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
(2006–2008). O’Neill worked on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff (2005–2006), and as Special Assistant for Russian Affairs to Secretary of State Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
(2004–2005) when O’Neill was a non-political, non-partisan White House Fellow.
Before his diplomatic service, O’Neill served under Manhattan District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
Robert Morganthau as an Assistant District Attorney in the Special Prosecutions Bureau. After law school, he worked in the private sector as an attorney for White & Case, LLC and as General Counsel and Head of Business Development for an investment/venture capital fund in New York City.
Background and education
Louis O’Neill attended Hunter College High School in Manhattan and earned a Bachelor's Degree with Distinction from Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where he was Co-Captain of the Stanford Cycling Team, leading it to 3rd place in National Competition. Later he completed a Master's Degree at Stanford's Center for Russian and East European Studies and graduated cum laude from the Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
.
Private sector work
Louis O’Neill joined the law firm of White & Case in 1997 and worked in the Litigation and Corporate Departments. His extensive pro bono work on behalf of New York's indigent earned him the Legal Aid Society's Pro Bono Award in 2000. He also served as General Counsel and Head of Business Development for The Falconwood Corporation, an investment/venture capital fund in New York City. O'Neill is currently Counsel at White & Case.Assistant District Attorney
In April 2001, O’Neill joined the New York County District Attorney's Office as an Assistant District AttorneyDistrict attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
in the Special Prosecutions Bureau. He investigated and prosecuted numerous cases of white-collar and organized crime, frauds and scams. His most widely reported case involved a ring of women who would, for money, repeatedly marry foreign-born men to facilitate immigration fraud. One woman married 27 times in this way.
Another important case resulted in the take-down of an organized crime ring whose bankruptcy and auctioneering fraud resulted in at least $27.7 million in thefts from distressed businesses that were being restructured or liquidated., O’Neill also investigated an explosion in a Chelsea manufacturing plant that injured dozens of people and closed West 21st Street. This case led to enhanced safety compliance in the industry.
Louis O’Neill specialized in tracking down elusive white-collar criminals on the lam, and brought number of them back to the United States to face prosecution, including a German man who defrauded hundreds of hotel patrons and a Russian man who ran a fraudulent immigration law firm.
Following the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, the Special Prosecutions Bureau investigated and prosecuted nearly 200 cases of "electronic looting" against New York's Municipal Credit Union
Municipal Credit Union
Municipal Credit Union is a state chartered credit union headquartered in New York City, regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration . MCU is metro New York's largest credit union...
. Each defendant stole at least $7,500 from the bank in the chaos following the attacks. O’Neill handled two dozen of these cases.
He also handled smaller, highly emotional cases where vulnerable, elderly or mentally incapacitated victims were preyed upon for their money.
White House Fellow
In 2004, Louis O’Neill was selected to the 2004–2005 class of White House FellowsWhite House Fellows
The White House Fellows program was established by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964. President Johnson articulated that the mission of the program was "to give the Fellows first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the federal government and to increase...
.
He was assigned to the State Department as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Special Assistant on Russian Affairs. He covered issues of counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics cooperation and also was tasked with special projects, including as the U.S. Expert for the OSCE Fact-Finding Mission to the Occupied Territories Surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, whose report he co-authored.
Policy Planning Staff
Upon completion of the White House Fellowship, O’Neill was asked to stay on at the US State Department in a non-political capacity as a member of the Policy Planning Staff, covering Russia, UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Belarus, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
and the countries of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
.
OSCE Ambassador and Head of Mission to Moldova
In 2006, Louis O’Neill was confirmed by the Belgian Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in EuropeOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
as OSCE Ambassador and Head of Mission to Moldova.
The OSCE Mission to Moldova's Mandate calls for facilitating the achievement of a lasting, comprehensive political settlement of the Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
n conflict in all its aspects, as well as advancing human and minority rights, democratic transformation, freedom of the press and fighting the scourge of human trafficking. It also requires ensuring transparency of the removal and destruction of Russian ammunition and armaments from Moldova.
Ambassador O’Neill pushed hard for fulfillment of this Mandate – which was approved by all OSCE participating States – and for reconciliation of the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides. He brought them together in a seminar on Confidence and Security Building measures in October 2007, on the margins of which the 5+2 negotiating format (OSCE, Russia, Ukraine, EU, US, Moldova and Transnistria) met for the first time in some 18 months. O’Neill did much to encourage the sides to disarm, including providing financial aid for the destruction of surplus weapons, and organizing seminars on proper storage and stockpile management.
His efforts to improve Moldova's human rights landscape and make it more attractive to the Transnistrian separatists included enhancing press freedoms, defending the rights of opposition parties, improving anti-torture legislation, strengthening the rule of law and judiciary, protecting freedom of assembly, and guarding the linguistic rights of schoolchildren in Transnistria.
Ambassador O’Neill devoted significant attention to improving elections throughout Moldova. This included marshaling the Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
diplomatic core to actively monitor the Gagauz Bashkan election in December 2006 and running an observation mission there,,. He also played an active role in covering the Moldovan national local elections in June 2007, helping de-escalate a violent situation at a Moldovan polling place on the left bank of the Nistru.
Ambassador O’Neill also placed a priority on battling gender violence and human trafficking, very serious problems in Moldova.
O'Neill used creative approaches to bring the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides together. These included a very popular rock festival
Rock festival
A rock festival, or a rock fest, is a large-scale rock music concert, featuring multiple acts.The first rock festivals were put on in the late 1960s and were important socio-cultural milestones. In the 1980s a minor resurgence of festivals occurred with charity as the goal.Today, they are often...
on the Nistru river with bands from both sides, and a photo contest.
Work for the Obama campaign
From January 2008 Ambassador O’Neill worked for the Obama campaign, serving in five states during the primaries – New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Montana in a variety of capacities. During the general election he assisted the state leadership in Virginia and was involved in all aspects of that race. As well, Ambassador O’Neill was one of the Obama Campaign's foreign policy advisors as part of the Russia/Eurasia team.Representative publications
- "China Gains a Foothold in Russia's Backyard" Financial Times, July 28, 2009
- "Moldova: New Generation, New Politics?" OpenDemocracy.net, July 21, 2009
- "Time to Solve the Trans-Dniestr Problem" Kyiv Post, July 20, 2009
- "Moscow Plays It Smart In Moldova, As Others Dither" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, June 29, 2009
- "Stiffening Moldova's Judiciary" OpenDemocracy.net, June 29, 2009
- "Top 9 Way for Voronin to Stay in Power" The Moscow Times, June 24, 2009
- "Handbook for a Heist: Pre-Election Maneuvers in Moldova" Moldova.org, June 23, 2009
- "Moldova's Crisis is an Opportunity for the EU" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, June 10, 2009
- "Moldova Must Stop Mixing Politics and Prosecutions" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, May 28, 2009
- "Mired in Moldova: Can Europe's Last Communist Government Hang On?" Foreign Policy, May 20, 2009
- "Moldova: Recession Hits a Frozen Conflict" OpenDemocracy.net, May 12, 2009
- "The World's Most Unhappy People" Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2009
- "A Wake-Up Call for the Kremlin" The Moscow Times, April 10, 2009
- Blog on Echo of Moscow
- Blog on Azi.md
Other information
Louis O’Neill is a native English speaker and speaks fluent Russian and Romanian. He was a Presidential Fulbright Scholar to the USSR in 1990–1991 and was awarded Foreign Language Area StudiesForeign Language Area Studies
The Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships are federally funded academic scholarships designed to provide support and funding to graduate and undergraduate students studying the languages and cultures of specific foreign countries, in particular those in the strategic interest of the United...
(FLAS) grants at Stanford and Harvard for the advanced study of Russian. He gave numerous speeches while OSCE Ambassador in Moldova, with representative examples here.