Now more than ever, Missouri needs an aggressive independent auditor to root out waste, fraud and abuse. As a former U.S. ambassador, award-winning fiscal conservative author, prosecutor, international law enforcement official, law professor, and patriot who served his country fighting terrorism, drugs, money laundering, and organized crime in Afghanistan, Colombia, Nigeria, and dozens of other countries around the world, Tom Schweich brings his fiscal conservative background and a history dedicated to public service to the Missouri Auditor’s race.
• A 5th Generation Missourian and Family Man
• Education, Law Practice, Audits, and Investigations
• The Author: On Finance, Law and Management
• The Federal Prosecutor: Investigation Waco
• The United Nations: Chief of Staff to Ambassador John Bolton
• The State Department: International Law Enforcement Official
• The Ambassador: Fighting Drugs and Corruption in Afghanistan
• The Educator
• The Independent, Fiscal Hawk
A 5th Generation Missourian and Family Man
First and foremost, Tom is a Missourian and a family man. His great, great grandfather settled in Missouri before the Civil War, opening the
Julius S. Schweich Furniture store at 6th and Market Street in St. Louis. Tom comes from five generations of Missouri small business owners and professionals. He has been married for 21 years to Kathy Schweich, and they have two children, Emilie and Thomas, Jr.
Education, Law Practice, Audits and Investigations
A graduate of Missouri public schools, Tom went on to attend Yale and Harvard Law School. Then he joined Bryan Cave law firm, the oldest firm in Missouri. There he focused on the field of corporate compliance—assisting some of Missouri’s largest companies in conducting internal audits and investigations to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.
The Author: On Finance, Law and Management
In 1998, the preeminent American publisher, Simon & Schuster, published Tom’s first book, Protect Yourself From Business Lawsuits (…and lawyers like 
me) which was Amazon’s #1 best-selling business law book for two years. The book focused on sound business ethics, effective financial accounting, and avoiding the mistakes that cause companies to be embroiled in litigation and government investigations.
In 2002, McGraw-Hill published Tom’s second book titled Crashproof Your Life: A Comprehensive Three-Part Plan for Avoiding Financial Disasters. In this book-- hailed by Insurance Weekly magazine as the risk avoidance book of the year-- as well as in a follow-up CD series entitled Protect Your Wealth, Tom advocated conservative financial principles for individuals and countries alike. At a time when the housing market was booming, he warned of the dangers of shady mortgages and over-borrowing. Tom examined the history of countries that had over-extended themselves and sang the praises of debt-free living. Tom was one of a few writers who saw the current financial crisis coming. Tom’s became a frequent lecturer and media personality on financial issues because many sought his financial advice.
Tom followed his finance book and CD series with the career advice and success book Staying Power for which he interviewed 40 very successful people from all walks of life—from politicians to entertainers—learning their secrets to a long and successful career. Staying Power has now been published in four languages.
The Federal Prosecutor: Investigating Waco
In 1999, former U.S. Senator Jack Danforth asked Tom to serve as his Chief of Staff in the federal investigation of the Waco incident — receiving an appointment as a federal prosecutor. Tom assisted the Senator in putting together a staff of more than 70 people and executing an investigation that was hailed as one of the best run independent investigations in U.S. history.
The United Nations: Chief of Staff to Ambassador John Bolton
In 2004, Tom received a presidential appointment as chief of staff to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York. Working for three U. N.ambassadors-- Jack Danforth, Anne Patterson, and John Bolton, Tom was one of our country’s leading advocates for identifying and ridding the United Nations of waste, corruption, and inefficiency. He briefed and testified before Congress on ways to root out waste and corruption at the United Nations on multiple occasions.
The State Department: International Law Enforcement Official
At the end of 2005, Tom served as the nation’s second-ranking international law enforcement official at the State Department in Washington. He managed 4,000 people and a budget of more than $2.5 billion, leading our efforts to fight crime, drugs, and corruption around the world as well as assisting emerging nations with police training and judicial reform. He traveled to more than 30 countries as a law enforcement official—including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria, Colombia, El Salvador, Russia, China, and Japan.
While at the State Department, Tom also initiated several internal audits of the State Department’s law enforcement division to ensure that billions of dollars of taxpayer money was being properly spent. He was then promoted to the top ranking slot in the law enforcement division of the State Department, a post he held for a few months before being recruited to be an ambassador.
The Ambassador: Fighting Drugs and Corruption in Afghanistan
In March 2007, the President appointed Tom to be Coordinator for Counternarcotics and JusticeReform in Afghanistan, and accorded him a rare honor-- the rank of Ambassador. Working with other U.S. government agencies, allies around the world, and Afghan officials, “Ambassador Tom,” as some of the staff liked to call him, led the effort to 
develop the first ever U.S. Counternarcotics Strategy for Afghanistan. This strategy helped reverse the burgeoning opium poppy trade there. Since the implementation of this program, poppy cultivation has declined sharply in Afghanistan, and more than 20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces are now poppy-free. Ironically, while Democrats in Congress and elsewhere were first sharply critical of Tom’s tough, law-enforcement approach to the problem, the new administration has done little to change the policy Tom helped put in place.
The Educator
In 2008, Tom joined the faculty of Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. He currently teaches oversubscribed courses on Afghanistan and the United Nations and is a frequent writer, speaker, and media guest on foreign policy matters. Tom is also an accomplished, high-energy, substantive, and entertaining public speaker—having given hundreds of lectures at corporate retreats, universities and think tanks around the world.
The Independent, Fiscal Hawk
With billions of dollars of Obama stimulus money coming to Missouri, our state needs a independent fiscal conservative like Tom to ensure that every dollar is being properly spent. Like most Republicans, independents, and even Democrats, Tom is concerned about the burgeoning federal deficit and the possible waste of precious taxpayer dollars. As auditor, Tom will be the tough, fair-minded, and efficient taxpayer advocate you deserve. He will work tirelessly to make sure not one of your taxpayer dollars goes to waste, fraud or abuse.
Tom’s successful career has given him the rare ability to be completely independent from special interest groups and their control. Tom is not afraid to stand up to his own party and he will not bend to political pressure because he is dedicated to protecting taxpayers. Tom’s extensive skills as a law enforcement official, financial author, compliance attorney, and prosecutor make him a fiscal hawk who can best serve the people of Missouri as auditor—our independent taxpayer watchdog.