Andy Thibault

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Register Citizen, Torrington, CT
Aug. 21, 2002

Litchfield Resident Authors New Books

Andy Thibault's "The 12-Minute MBA For Lawyers" and
"Law And Justice In Everyday Life" To Be Sold In Local Stores

By BRYAN M. SUNDIE
Register Citizen Correspondent

LITCHFIELD - In 1973, a 20-year-old college student was killed in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve while changing a tire in eastern Connecticut, presumably by another driver. A witness, the student's passenger standing six feet away, claims to have seen nothing. Accusations of evidence tampering, police corruption and unsavory judicial and political relationships ensued, leaving the case unsolved and its high-profile primary suspect free to roam.

This case is among many that appear in one of two new books authored by Litchfield resident Andy Thibault.

"Law and Justice in Everyday Life" is a compilation of articles written by the investigative reporter over the past two years. The works in Thibault's book have been reprinted from a variety of prominent magazines and newspapers, with the majority from his "Cool Justice" column in Law Tribune publications.

"I always wanted to have a column and, eventually, a book of columns. So I guess they were all written for this book. Jimmy Breslin is my hero, and when I read his book of columns ("The World of Jimmy Breslin,") I thought that was something I'd try to do one day," Thibault said in a telephone interview.

The commentary in Thibault's articles attempts to provide readers with new perspectives and fresh questions on various cases of judicial and social injustice as well as political, economic and social ineptitude. The cases are drawn from Connecticut and beyond. Many are well known to citizens across the country, such as the inexplicable death of White HouseCounsel Vince Foster and the Oklahoma City Bombing.

Thibault is well decorated as an investigative reporter and feature writer, winning numerous journalism awards on the state and national levels. He began his career at age 17, writing sports for the Norwich Bulletin and Groton News. During his career, the 49-year-old has reported on high profile stories and issues including police brutality in Hartford, the Russian Mob in Brooklyn and the pipe bombing at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park.

Readers searching for Thibault's insight into well-known local issues have a good amount of content to peruse. The book offers the author's thoughts on such topics as the partial work stoppage at Torrington High School in 2001.

"Including local stories wasn't by design, but it is icing on the cake to have something that is relevant locally," Thibault said. "If I encounter a story, I'll work on it."

Other local cases documented in this book include Canaan's 1974 murder of Barbara Gibbons, popularized in book and film ("A Death in Canaan,") as well as that of Salisbury's infamous drug dealer, Richie Duntz.

After reading this fact-filled book, many readers may be left wondering why Thibault never ventured into the field of law.

"My mentor instructed me to eat lawyers' bones for breakfast; that's been my daily diet. I have no idea if I can do the job that lawyers do, but I enjoy cops and courts very much."

In another book to be released this month, "The 12-Minute MBA for Lawyers," Thibault's prose captures the ideas of Litchfield's Charles Johnson.

It is the second in a series of books written by the pair. Their most recent effort focuses on providing legal professionals with the tools necessary to improve the business component of running a successful practice. The first book in this series is entitled "The 12-Minute MBA for Doctors."

"Charlie articulates many principles of business that are common sense, but are not common practice," Thibault said.

"The 12-Minute MBA for Lawyers" presents its readers with insights into leadership, teamwork, understanding financial issues, strategic and tactical planning skills and others. It is to be released this month and will be available at large book retailers. "Law and Justice in Everyday Life" is scheduled for a late August release.

Both books will be available locally at Barnidge & McEnroe and John Steele Book Shop in Litchfield.

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