Stanley Sporkin

Stanley Sporkin of Rockville, Maryland,died of heart failure at a hospice center in Rockville, MD on March 23. He was 88. A graduate of Penn State University and Yale University School of Law, Sporkin had a 50-plus year career as director of enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission, general counsel of the CIA, and as a federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan.  When he retired from the bench in 2000, he entered private practice, and became ombudsman for BP to hear worker complaints from Alaska and elsewhere. He worked as an attorney until his death. At the SEC, he helped create the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, persuading more than 600 companies to make voluntary disclosures of questionable foreign payments. In 1978 he won the Rockefeller Public Service Award for administering justice and reducing crime. The following year he won the Presidents Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service.  Sporkin is survived by his wife, Judith, sister, Barbara, daughter Elizabeth, sons Daniel and Thomas, and five grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the American Heart Association. Burial will be private. A memorial service will be held at a later time.