Legendary newsman Pete Hamill will be getting his diploma from Regis tomorrow, 59 years after he dropped out (there's still an old photo of him, right). As detailed in his memoir, A Drinking Life (excerpt), he dropped out of Regis at age 15 and went to work in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. According to the Daily News, the diploma came up back in the 1990s: "'President Clinton had a St. Patrick's Day panel at the White House,' says Jim Buggy, development chief at Regis. 'Jimmy Breslin growled at [Fordham president] Father O'Hare, "Why don't you give Pete an honorary degree?" Pete said, "What I really want is my diploma from Regis."'" Hamill told the News, "To be a newspaperman is the best education. You go out and talk to some of the most brilliant people in the world." more ›

We learn more today about Flatbush-born, "Blago-destroyer" US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. As a leader in going after terrorists since the 1993 WTC attack, he apparently can still recite from memory Osama Bin Laden's 1000-word fatwa declaring war against the US in 1998. Yet another colleague mentions, "He is a disorganized genius—if he didn't remember where things were, no one would ever find it in his office." And did you know that the Regis High School grad was one of People's "sexiest men alive" in 2005? As for his future following the traditional resignation of all US Attorneys at an administration change, Senator Schumer has strongly encouraged new Attorney General Eric Holder that Fitzgerald remain at his post. Schumer said, "(Fitzgerald) has a deserved reputation of being totally non-political and totally on the merits and a tough and strong prosecutor, and I think leaving it in his hands is exactly the right way to go." more ›

The NY Times offers a profile of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who led the investigation into Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's dealings. Previously, he was an assistant U.S. Attorney in NYC between 1988 and 2001, making "his reputation [here] prosecuting Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman... who plotted to bomb local landmarks... and helping to build a criminal case against Osama bin Laden." This tidbit from a 2005 Newsweek article is also telling: "Growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., in the 1970s, Patrick Fitzgerald was so determined to attend the prestigious Regis High School that even a rejection letter couldn't keep him away. When his carefully prepared application was denied, Fitzgerald dialed up Regis's director of admissions and protested that there must have been some mistake. Sure enough, the school had mixed up his entrance exam with that of another Patrick Fitzgerald of Brooklyn who got lower marks. The right Patrick Fitzgerald entered Regis that fall." more ›