Jan. 30 – He may not be familiar with Hootie and the Blowfish, but Peter Pitchess, who completed his law degree at the University of Utah in 1940 and received the U.’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1975, knows everyone else.

Walt Disney chaired one of his campaigns for Los Angeles County Sheriff; Bob Hope and Walter O’Malley each chaired two of the other six. Ronald Reagan owes his political start to him, and he and John Wayne were on a first-name basis.

Despite his popularity and success, Pitchess has “never put on airs,” according to his sister-in-law, Tessk Dokos. “He’s not a forceful person. Rather, he’s determined and effective. He doesn’t stand around for any nonsense. But he’s kind and loving; he has a tender spot that sometimes overwhelms you.”

“I know of no other work I would rather do or of any work that is more rewarding or one that gives a greater satisfaction than being able to help my fellow man,” said Pitchess many years ago. With such motivation, Pitchess’ success and longevity aren’t surprising.

Born in Utah to Greek immigrants John and Rena Pitchess, he was 9 when he was orphaned in 1922 and was raised by two uncles in Bingham, Utah.

There, Peter played soccer, was captain of the baseball team and eventually got an athletic scholarship to the U.

“But an athletic scholarship then wouldn’t sustain you,” he said. “The connections I had developed through sports in high school, however, helped me get jobs that provided the money I needed to finish my education.

Pitchess began his education at the U. in 1931, attending off and on to earn money to supplement the scholarship. He first played football, but broke his arm at the end of the first season. Later, he started on the U.’s basketball team.

He graduated in 1940 with a law degree and a bachelor’s degree in history and political science. “The last two years of law school, my wife, Athena, had already finished school and helped pay for my schooling,” he said. “But I remember many days of going to classes until 12:20 p.m. and then working at 1 p.m. in the supermarket. I’d come home at 6 or 8 in the evening and study. It was a rough time, but I enjoyed the University of Utah very much. [It] is outstanding and hasn’t gotten the recognition it deserves.”

“I’ll never forget the day he graduated,” Dokos said. “He ran down the steps of the Student Union to where I was standing with my two sisters. He grabbed Athena, hugged her, swung her around and said, ‘I’d never have made it without you?”

Pitchess was president of the Banister’s Club and chief justice of Phi Alpha Delta Law Society.

“When I graduated with my law degree from the University of Utah in 1940,” Pitchess said, “the FBI was recruiting heavily. You had to be an attorney to work for them. Most lawyers were than making $90 to $110 a month. The FBI paid between $300 and $350 a month. I was the first in my class … and jumped at the chance. I had accumulated a large debt in tuition that needed to be paid.”

At that time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was responsible for espionage, counterespionage and sabotage. While an FBI agent, Pitchess worked in Kansas City, El Paso, and Los Angeles.

“I arrived in Los Angeles in 1941 and assisted in the interning of Japanese-Americans. What happened then is looked at with disfavor, but they were dangerous then. The Japanese all had cameras and compiled information and photographs that they sent to Japan for intelligence purposes. I retired from the FBI because I was promoted. That meant I would have to go to Washington, DC. I didn’t want to. So, I resigned?”

Several years later, President Richard Nixon offered Pitchess the directorship of the FBI. Again, he turned it down to stay in Los Angeles.

In 1953, Los Angeles County Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz asked Pitchess to be his undersheriff. He accepted the challenge and in 1958 ran for sheriff of what is now the largest sheriff’s department in the world. He won by 58 percent. In the next five elections, Pitchess claimed dose to 80 percent of the vote, making him the largest vote-getter in the history of Los Angeles County, of which he is now sheriff emeritus.

Pitchess instituted the Los Angeles Contract City Program. “When I left office, 33 of the 45 cities in Los Angeles County had become involved. It was to their advantage to allow us to be responsible for law enforcement. They didn’t have to maintain a records bureau or a jail. Many of the duplications that otherwise exist are avoided. If a crisis necessitates it, a city that has con-traaed with the sheriff’s department can have its force doubled.”

Many other successful programs were initiated during Pitchcss’ tenure. Celebnties endorsed programs encouraging citizens to be safer — to leave a light on at night and to lock their doors — and he got Johnny Cash, Art Linkletter, Jayne Mansfield, and other famous stars to attract audiences to the Sheriffs Rodeo in the Los Angeles Coliseum to raise funds for the department.

Pitchess diligently fought for gun control and reduction of the drug trade while in office, issues still important to him. “I induced senators to introduce a bill to ban the private possession of handguns. The National Rifle Association — one of the most dangerous groups of people in the America today — did nothing but buy the legislators by contributing to their campaigns.

“At a fundraising function, I told John Wayne — “The Duke” and I were good friends — that I was going to come and get his guns. Wayne, who had collected many guns, warned, ‘You’d better bring a battalion: Later, I wrote him a letter. ‘In view of your great efforts in winning the West, I told him, I’ve decided to let you keep your guns.’ The Duke wrote back and said: ‘That was a damn good decision.'”

“I’m strongly in favor of capital punishment. Nancy Reagan and I were co-chairs of a program to establish capital punishment as part of the California Constitution. It won by a factor of 3-1. One day this nation will settle down to enforce capital punishment as it should be.

“I also fought for effective legislation against drugs. I wasn’t too successful. I’m unalterably opposed to legalization. It would be the destruction of this country, the greatest tragedy this country could engage in. It’s a war we’re fighting and must be fought as such. The prevailing attitude is complacency. ‘Oh, it doesn’t affect me and my family. Let someone else take care of it.’

“I blame the government for a failure to take a strong position. Without a complete, concentrated national effort, no one can do much to combat drugs. The government could use the air force and naval power to do more to keep the drugs out of the country. Local jurisdiction can only put out a fire here, another there. We’ve done some good fighting the drug trade in other countries, but not enough.

“Parents and educators haven’t taught children how bad drug abuse can be. All it would take is a concentrated effort to show how drug use will destroy the mental and physical well being of users. Today’s kids are smart enough to know what’s good for than.”

Pitchcss’ views have been tempered by a broad range of experiences. He’s never been one to pull any punches. He tells it like it is. He was sheriff during the Watts Riots, the Charles Manson murders and many uprisings on college campuses.

For his efforts in improving living conditions in Los Angeles County, he received honorary doctorates of law from the University of the Pacific, Pepperdirie University and California State University.

Throughout his tenure as sheriff, Pitchess cultivated relationships with law enforcement agencies all over the world, in an effort to aid the pursuit of fugitives. “We own Scotland Yard,” he said. He met with Prince Phillip, Prince Charles, Emperor Hirohito, King Hussein of Jordan, the Greek Patriarch, and the Pope, to name a few.

While chairing Barry Goldwater’s election campaign in 1964, Pitchcss asked Ronald Reagan if he wanted to be a delegate to the Republican Convention in San Francisco — Reagan’s first political assignment.

Speaking about the present efforts of the government to increase law enforcement, Pitchess said, “They should have increased law enforcement personnel 100 percent. It’s a solution for the citizens. What the hell good is a health program if you’re not going to live to enjoy it? The biggest problem in America today is public safety, with the budget and health and welfare dose behind.”

The Deseret News quoted Pitchess in 1968: “Our nation and our society are suffering from a frightening withdrawal from responsibility and, in fact, a flight from reality. In attempting to treat these problems, we meet with withdrawal and abdication of responsibility. The end product is a permissive society that has engendered an enormous wave of crime.

“We cannot salve our conscience by giving away money. We must work on hard, practical, and personal solutions within the private sector which will offer job opportunities and the training which will lead to improved education and housing”

Is anyone listening?

By RICH HAGLUND