Autopsy shows lawyer Shelby killed himself

Associated Press

HOUSTON — A former U.S. attorney in Houston killed himself with a gunshot to his chest, an autopsy released Thursday showed.

Michael T. Shelby, 47, had been suffering from cancer, friends and colleagues said.

Sheriff’s officers were called to his Houston home Tuesday mid-morning and found his body in his bedroom, Harris County Sheriff’s Lt. John R. Martin said Thursday. He said Shelby’s wife, Diana, and his mother were in the home when officers arrived to find Shelby, who had fatally shot himself with a handgun.

Shelby was a career prosecutor, first in Harris County, and then the U.S. Attorney’s office in Houston. He resigned as the Houston area’s chief federal prosecutor a year ago to lead the white-collar criminal defense practice at Fulbright & Jaworski.

At the time of his resignation, he said he chose to go into private practice to better support his family and pay for the college educations of his daughters, aged 13 and 17.

Appointed by President Bush to be in charge of the seventh largest district in the country, including Houston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville and Victoria, Shelby was sworn in to the post in December 2001.

07/21/06

Former Houston U.S. attorney dies

By KRISTEN HAYS
Associated Press

HOUSTON — Former Houston U.S. Attorney Michael Shelby, who resigned as a prosecutor to go into private practice about a year ago, has died. He was 47.

Shelby died Tuesday of cancer, said Don DeGabrielle, his successor as Houston’s chief federal prosecutor.

When asked about Shelby’s death, Harris County Sheriff’s Lt. John R. Martin said deputies were called to a house in the same block where Shelby lived where a person had shot himself. Martin declined to release the name of that person or any of the details about the suicide.

Shelby’s body was taken to the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, which was to be performed today.

“I’ve known him for 20 years. There’s not a finer or more zealous advocate. He is one of the most effective orators I’ve ever heard. He loved his family completely, and he had passion in everything he did,” DeGabrielle said.

Shelby, a married father of two, was a career prosecutor, first in Harris County and then the U.S. Attorney’s office in Houston. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M University and then a law degree in 1984 from the University of Texas School of Law.

He resigned from his federal post in June last year to become a partner and lead the white-collar criminal defense practice at Fulbright & Jaworski, a Houston-based international law firm.

“He was immediately a star within our firm,” said Steve Dillard, head of Fulbright’s litigation department. “He was in demand from the time he set foot here. He opened up opportunities for building out his practice and was a major contributor despite the relatively short time he was here.” Shelby joined Houston’s U.S. Attorney’s office in 1989 and specialized in cases involving public corruption, organized crime and environmental law. In 1997, he moved to Phoenix, Ariz., where he served as an assistant U.S. attorney until he was sworn in as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas in December 2001.

He was appointed by President Bush to be in charge of the seventh largest district in the country, including Houston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, Brownsville and Victoria.

The same month he was sworn in, Houston-based Enron crumbled into bankruptcy proceedings amid a scandal of hidden debt, inflated profits and accounting tricks. Shelby recused himself from the Justice Department’s Enron investigation because he had relatives who were company employees and shareholders.

Shelby said last year that he resigned from his federal job to join Fulbright so he could better support his family and pay for his two daughters’ college educations. His survivors include those daughters, aged 13 and 17, and his wife, Diana.

Funeral services were pending.

7/19/2006

Shelby resigns
Chief law enforcement officer plans to be with family

By CELINA ALVARADO
LAREDO MORNING TIMES

United States Attorney Michael Shelby, who has served as the chief law enforcement officer for the Southern District of Texas for the past three-and-a-half years, announced his resignation Friday, effective June 11.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, Shelby announced to a stunned crowd of almost 300 district employees in Houston Friday -- he plans to dedicate his time to more important things such as his family.

"I believe in what we do. I have a strong sense of obligation to the president, Attorney General (Alberto) Gonzales, and the people of this district," he explained, "But I also have an obligation to my wife and children that I can no longer put aside."

Although no definite plans have been announced, Shelby is expected to enter the private practice of law in the Houston area, the press release states.

Throughout his distinguished career as a prosecutor, which spans more than 20 years, Shelby, a graduate of Texas A&M University and the University of Texas School of Law, served as an assistant district attorney in Harris County and as an assistant United States attorney for the district of Arizona.

In December of 2001, Shelby was chosen by President George W. Bush to serve as U.S. district attorney for the seventh largest district in the country - the Southern District of Texas.

The Southern District of Texas is comprised of 7 million residents living in 43 counties, covering Houston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Laredo, Victoria, and other areas.

During his tenure as U.S. district attorney, Shelby and his office have successfully prosecuted significant criminal cases in international terrorism, corporate and complex fraud, public corruption, drug trafficking, civil rights, human smuggling and organized crime, reports state.

During his speech Friday, Shelby attributed much of this accomplishment to his staff.

"The strength of this office isn't found at the top. It comes from each of you, the remarkably dedicated people who spend their days trying to make people's lives a little safer, more secure. In that, you have succeeded beyond anyone's greatest expectations," he told them.

In his three-and-a-half-year tenure, Shelby was one of only eight U.S. attorneys to be appointed as a member of the Corporate Fraud Task Force, a member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee (twice), chair of the Controlled Substances Subcommittee, served as the coordinating authority for all organized crime and drug trafficking investigations and prosecutions in the Southwestern United States, and was a leader for effective anti-terrorism task forces around the nation, the release states.

(Celina Alvarado can be reached at 728-2566 or by email at celina@lmtonline.com)

05/14/05