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2019 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 737
Commending Francis W. Pedrotty.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 28, 2019
Agreed to by the Senate, February 7, 2019

 

WHEREAS, Francis W. Pedrotty has faithfully served the Commonwealth as a senior assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General since November 25, 1999, having also served, prior to his promotion, as an assistant attorney general since July 16, 1982, for a 36-year career in public service; and

WHEREAS, Francis “Frank” W. Pedrotty capably served as chief of the Health Professions Unit in the Public Safety and Enforcement Division from 1990 to 2014, and has served as chief of the Health Professions Section of the Civil Litigation Division since October 2014, leading a team of dedicated and distinguished health care prosecutors; and

WHEREAS, during his tenure with the Office of the Attorney General, Frank Pedrotty served as counsel to several state agencies, including the Department of Corrections, the Virginia State Police, the Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Division of Forensic Science, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and the Department of Health Professions, providing sage and professional advice and representation in challenging cases; and

WHEREAS, Frank Pedrotty represented the Commonwealth with integrity and distinction as a prosecutor and as a defense counsel in state and federal courts, successfully defending the former state penitentiary in Richmond from a class action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, prosecuting state fraud actions, and litigating civil rights claims, including search and seizure and excessive force claims; and

WHEREAS, since 1990, in his role as chief of the Health Professions Section, Frank Pedrotty prosecuted some of the most difficult and complex cases involving health care professionals licensed by 13 health regulatory boards within the Virginia Department of Health Professions, concerning standard of care violations, substance abuse, mental illness and mental incompetence, professional boundary violations, and patient abuse; and

WHEREAS, in 2006, Frank Pedrotty successfully prosecuted a gastroenterologist who demonstrated a pattern of faulty clinical judgment in his selection of patients for a risky surgical procedure used to identify gallstones or tumors blocking the common bile duct; following a six-day formal hearing, the Virginia Board of Medicine revoked the physician’s license to practice medicine and surgery in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, another significant case handled by Frank Pedrotty in 2015 involved a medical doctor who had drugged and exploited medical students in his emergency medical training course; following Frank Pedrotty’s presentation of the Commonwealth’s evidence at a formal hearing, the Virginia Board of Medicine ordered the revocation of the doctor’s license to practice medicine and surgery in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, consistent with the initiatives undertaken by Governor Terrence R. McAuliffe, Governor Ralph S. Northam, and Attorney General Mark Herring concerning the current opioid epidemic plaguing the Commonwealth, Frank Pedrotty ensured that the Health Professions Section would vigorously prosecute cases against physicians and pharmacists who engage in the excessive and unwarranted prescribing and dispensing of opioid medications; and

WHEREAS, further evidence of Frank Pedrotty’s commitment to public service is shown in his 30 years of active duty and reserve duty legal experience in the United States Air Force from 1974 through 2004, rising to the rank of colonel; and

WHEREAS, Frank Pedrotty’s dedication, as well as his good humor and willingness to assume many and varied challenges during his career, have earned him the respect and friendship of his colleagues and clients in public service; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Francis W. Pedrotty on the occasion of his retirement from the Office of the Attorney General; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Francis W. Pedrotty as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his service to the Commonwealth and best wishes on his well-earned retirement.