David Locke Hall is a highly decorated former

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

officer, and author.

Early life

Hall was born in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1955. He received a BA from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, an MBA from

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, and JD and MA degrees from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. After law school, Hall served as a law clerk to the Honorable

Walter King Stapleton Walter King Stapleton (June 2, 1934 – November 23, 2024) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of De ...

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district courts for the following United Sta ...

Career

Assistant United States Attorney

Hall served for 23 years with the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

as an

, retiring in 2013. He tried a large number of significant cases to verdict, including mobster Roy Stocker of the

K&A Gang The K&A Gang, or the Northeast Philly Irish Mob, is a predominantly Irish American criminal network based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The K&A Gang was started following World War II and controlled the city's Irish-American criminal underwo ...

. Hall also prosecuted the Leath Cocaine Trafficking Organization, the leaders of which were involved in shooting Philadelphia Police Officer Donald McMullin. A significant focus of Hall's prosecutorial career was the investigation and prosecution of weapons proliferation and technology transfer offenders. In the 1990s, he prosecuted the Armaments Corporation of South Africa ( Armscor), Kentron, Fuchs Electronics, and others for violations of the Arms Export Control Act during the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

era. The ARMSCOR case was a significant point of contention between the United States and the Republic of South Africa because ARMSCOR and Kentron were state-owned corporations. After lengthy negotiations, the dispute was resolved by the pleas of ARMSCOR, Kentron, and Fuchs to criminal charges and the payment of fines in excess of $11 million. From 2004 to 2009, Hall investigated and prosecuted Amir Hossein Ardebili, an Iranian arms procurement agent working in Shiraz, Iran, acquiring components for the F4, F14, and other military aircraft, as well as microchips for use in phased array radar. The years-long investigation resulted in an undercover meeting between Ardebili and U.S. agents on October 1 and October 2, 2007, in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, where Ardebili was arrested by Georgian authorities. He was extradited to the United States in January 2008. Ardebili pled guilty to violations of the Arms Export Control Act, International Emergency Economic Powers Act, smuggling, conspiracy and money laundering in May 2008. The Ardebili case is the subject of a book, Operation Shakespeare: The True Story of an Elite International Sting, written by John Shiffman. From 2009 to 2013, Hall led the undercover investigation and prosecution of Xiang Li, a Chinese software pirate. Xiang Li's Chengdu, China-based operation sold over $100 million in cracked software products with multiple high-tech applications, including telecommunications, explosive simulation, aerospace, satellite tracking, and flight simulation. The undercover investigation led to a meeting on Saipan between federal agents and Xiang Li in June 2011. At that meeting, Xiang Li delivered 20 gigabytes of proprietary data hacked from a defense contractor. Xiang Li was charged with trafficking in more than $100 million in stolen copyrighted software. He pled guilty in January 2013 and in June 2013 was sentenced to 12 years incarceration. Hall has testified before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Committee on Foreign Affairs, United States House of Representatives on "Examining the Effectiveness of the Kingpin Designation Act in the Western Hemisphere." Hall also served as the Special Prosecutor for the

FBI 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 ...

Art Crime Team. During this time, he worked closely with FBI Special Agent Robert King Wittman. Hall negotiated the return of three stolen

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

paintings from Brazil in 2001. In 2009, he led the successful undercover investigation and prosecution of Marcus Patmon, an art thief who sold stolen works by

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

. Hall forfeited and returned to Iraq a collection of Mesopotamian artifacts in 2010. In 2011, Hall effected the return to Peru of a gold Moche monkey head (circa 300 A.D.) that had been looted from the royal tombs of Sipan. In 2013, Hall seized and forfeited the Rosenberg Diary, the long-lost diary of

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...

, Nazi propagandist and Reich Minister for the occupied eastern territories. The Rosenberg Diary is now part of the Holocaust Museum collection. Hall retired from the Department of Justice in 2013 and joined the law firm of Wiggin and Dana as a partner.

Military service

Hall served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer for thirty years. Commissioned in 1984, he retired at the rank of captain in 2015. He commanded three intelligence units and served with the

Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) specializing in military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense and the United States In ...

, the

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serv ...

, the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

, in addition to numerous Navy commands. He was a third-generation naval officer, his father having served as a Marine Corps officer with the Second Marine Division in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Awards and recognitions

Throughout his career, Hall has received numerous awards in recognition of his outstanding professional and military service including: 2013- "''Meritorious Service Medal''" by the

2012- "''International Achievement Award''" by the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

2010- "''SAFE Beacon Award''" by Saving Antiquities for Everyone 2008- "''Excellence in Law Enforcement Award''" by the

2008- "''Defense Meritorious Service Medal''" by the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

2004- "''Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal''" by the

2000- "''Joint Service Commendation Medal''" by the

1998- "''Director's Award for Superior Performance''" by the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

1997- "''FBI Director Citation''" by 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 ...

Published work

2015- "''CRACK99: The Takedown of a $100 Million Chinese Software Pirate''"

W. W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly '' The Norton ...

2015- "''Stolen Cultural Property: A Risk Management Primer''" (chapter co-author), "''The Legal Guide for Museum Professionals (J. Courtney, ed.)''",

Rowman and Littlefield The Globe Pequot Publishing Group (formerly Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group) is an American independent book publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers various regional and interest books in the trade b ...

1991- "''The Reagan Wars: A Constitutional Perspective on War Powers and the Presidency''"

Westview Press Westview Press was an American publishing company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado founded in 1975. Field of work Westview primarily publishes textbooks. History Westview Press was founded by Frederick A. Praeger in 1975. Praeger sold ...