John P. Volz, Sr. (April 22, 1935 – February 12, 2011) was a prominent

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He was the attorney for the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (in case citations, E.D. La.) is a United States federal court based in New Orleans. Appeals from the Eastern District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of A ...

under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, a Democrat, and Presidents

Ronald W. Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

and

George Herbert Walker Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, both Republicans. Volz was chosen as U.S. attorney in 1977 after the initial choice, George W. Reese, Jr., of New Orleans, a former Republican national committeeman, withdrew from consideration after the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

came forward with "allegations" of his drinking,

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

, and procurement of a loan from a financial institution with mob ties. Volz in time prosecuted reputed

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

figure

Carlos Marcello Carlos Joseph Marcello (Sicilian Italian); or-sel-loborn Calogero Minacore ; February 6, 1910 – March 3, 1993) was an Italian-American crime boss of the New Orleans crime family from 1947 to 1983. Aside from his role in the American Mafia, ...

, Louisiana commissioner of

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

Charles E. Roemer, II,

Orleans Parish Orleans Parish (; ) is a parish of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Since 1870, the parish has been coextensive with the city of New Orleans, and the parish and city are largely governed as a single consolidated city. History On April 10, 180 ...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Harry Connick Sr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Sr. (March 27, 1926 – January 25, 2024) was an American attorney who served as the district attorney of Orleans Parish (New Orleans), Louisiana, from 1973 to 2003. His son, Harry Connick Jr., is an American musician a ...

, Louisiana State Senate President Michael H. O'Keefe, Sr., and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Edwin Washington Edwards. In 1995, Volz, running as a Republican, finished third in a crowded

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

for sheriff of suburban St. Tammany Parish outside New Orleans. In 1996, failed in a bid to oust Walter Reed as district attorney in the 22nd Judicial District, which covers St. Tammany and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

parishes. Volz died in

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, where he had been an administrative law judge for several years until forced to retire on December 31, 2010, because of failing health. His widow, Daisy Volz, said that he would be interred in New Orleans. Also published as

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volz, John, Sr. 1935 births 2011 deaths Louisiana Democrats Louisiana Republicans United States attorneys for the Eastern District of Louisiana Tulane University alumni Tulane University Law School alumni Jesuit High School (New Orleans) alumni Lawyers from New Orleans People from St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Lawyers from Tulsa, Oklahoma 20th-century American lawyers