PHOENIX (AZ)
The New York Times
By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: December 19, 2004
PHOENIX, Dec. 15 - Richard M. Romley, the flinty former marine who has served as prosecuting attorney of Maricopa County for the past 16 years, is retiring at the end of the month after taking down hundreds of killers and drug dealers, seven state legislators and one Roman Catholic bishop.
Mr. Romley, 55, a Republican, is weighing a run for governor or a seat in Congress in 2006. He said he would consider a job in the Bush administration, perhaps as drug czar or secretary of veterans affairs. After nearly two decades in the limelight, he is unlikely to fade away quietly.
Mr. Romley's critics call him self-righteous, inflexible and a tough and unforgiving boss. His admirers say the same thing.
Mr. Romley, whose legs were blown off by a land mine in Vietnam in 1969, confesses to a streak of self-righteousness. "I think it's my salvation," he said in an interview this week. "I'm very outspoken. I say what I believe in. People know where I stand."