No Lucas County Prosecutor has had a longer career in our office than Harry Friberg. Beginning with an appointment as interim Prosecutor in 1952 when Joel Rhinefort resigned, Friberg was already a veteran, having served twenty years as an assistant prosecutor.

Our 33rd Prosecutor was born in London, England and came to the United States at the age of nine. He lived in Toledo almost all of his life, beginning at the age of 16. A graduate of Woodward High School and the University of Toledo, Friberg received his law degree from The Ohio State University in 1926.

After a few years in private practice, he volunteered to work on the 1932 county prosecutorial campaign of Frazier Reams, who, after his victory in the Roosevelt landslide election of 1932, appointed Friberg as an Assistant Prosecutor in 1933.

Friberg made an early and impressive reputation for himself as an assistant Prosecutor assisting Prosecutor Reams in prosecuting the notorious Detroit gangster Yonni Licavoli and his "Purple Gang" in the mid-1930's. Known for his thorough and careful case preparation, he was an effective assistant to Reams and helped to crush the Purple Gang, gaining penitentiary convictions for its principal members.

During the administration of Joel Rhinefort (1943-1952), Friberg was elevated to Chief Assistant Prosecutor. During his exerience as assistant, he had extensive experience both in criminal and civil matters, under Joel Rhinefort and Paul Alexander, respectively. When Rhinefort subsequently resigned in 1952, Friberg was appointed interim Prosecutor, a position to which he was subsequently elected in six consecutive elections. During his first administration, Friberg appointed seven assistants (Joseph Jan, Thomas Mattimoe, Benjamin Fisher, Edward Buckenmyer, Donald Bradley and Anthony Pizza).

Reputedly an amateur boxer, Friberg had the reputation, as Prosecutor, for being a tough adversary. Retired Munipal Court Judge Robert Penn reminisces (Interview 2-5-99), that once in the courtroom of Judge Geraldine Macelwane, Friberg took personal offense to a statement by defense counsel. He flung off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and challenged his opponent to take him on in any way he wanted. In deference to Friberg's power and reputation, no contempt citation was issued.

In the second incident in 1961, Friberg filed a libel suit against The Blade, for alleging that a criminal prosecution should have been filed but wasn't because Friberg covered up evidence. Friberg hired California attorney Melvin Belli to bring an action against The Blade. During the case, Friberg subpoenaed the Editor-in Chief of The Blade and the newspaper finally agreed to settle the case by printing two letters retracting their charges. It was one of Friberg's proudest moments.

In 1972, he was named the Outstanding Prosecutor by the Ohio Prosecuting Attoney's Association, for being an "excellent lawyer" and for demonstrating "what a large prosecutor's office can do for the community and state. When Friberg decided not to run for a seventh term in 1976, he had served an unprecedented 43 years in the Lucas County Prosecutor, having acquired a unique mastery of boith civil and criminal law."

On January 5, 1953, (when he assumed the office as an elected official in Lucas County for the first time), the Blade reported: " Mr. Friberg conducts his trial work in an even tone that makes adroit use of scientific evidence."

He was such a respected and powerful government office in Lucas County, that he was often referred to as the "Fourth Commissioner", (in reference to the three Commissioners who govern Lucas County). During his long career, which included two successful runs for judgeships (Toledo Municiple Court, 1951, two years before his first election as County Prosecutor) and 1958 (Lucas County Probate Court), he was well-known as a cigar-smoking, forceful, intelligent and articulate advocate for law enforcement

He often lobbied the Ohio Legislature for higher pay and full-time positions for prosecutors. It wasn't until 1997, that prosecutors became full-time positions. In a 1958 Blade article, he reportedly pointed out to the Legislature that the Prosecutor (then paid $9,800 a year) should be a full-time prosecutor (he then had a part-time law practice) and should be paid the same as Common Pleas Court Judges (the $15,000). His foresight was not recognized until Julia R. Bates became Prosecutor in 1997.

After naming his chief assistant, Anthony G. Pizza, to be his successor on June 1, 1976, Friberg retired (temporarily) to Florida, returing to work on legal matters for the prosecutor's office during the warmer months. Finally, after a devastating hurricane almost cost them their lives, the Fribergs returned to Toledo permanently in 1992. Still contributing to the office even at an advance age, Friberg is credited with introducing computers into daily use in the Prosecutor's office in the late 1980's.

Unique among Lucas County Prosecutors for his forty-three year career, first as an assistant, then chief assistant, and finally as the elected Prosecutor for 24 years, Harry Friberg left a legacy of professionalism, and many disciples to carry on the work of the office. Many of them went on to become distinguished judges--- from the municiple and common pleas courts to the court of appeals, the Ohio Supreme Court (Alice Robie Resnick) and the United States District COurt (James G. Carr). He will always be respected and long remembered for the contributions made during his long tenure as Lucas County Prosecutor.