Thomas M. O'Connell is the former Senior Litigation Counsel and Chief of the Narcotics and Violent Crimes Section of the United States Attorney's Office in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is the host of a new, 6 part podcast about the 1993 kidnapping of Kevyn Wynn, daughter of Steve Wynn, and the extortion of $1.45 million dollars from Wynn and his Mirage Hotel and Casino. O'Connell was the lead prosecutor throughout the investigation and trial of the case, one of many highly profile cases he tried during his tenure in Las Vegas.  He also developed several programs in coordination with the Clark County District Attorney's Office, targeting Felons and Firearms, Methamphetamine Labs, and Interstate Trafficking in Juveniles for Prostitution. O'Connell was born in the Bronx, N.Y, into a family of police officers.  After law school, he joined the Suffolk County Police Department. He then became an Assistant District Attorney for Suffolk County, serving in the District Court and Rackets Bureaus, and later in the Special Investigations Unit. In addition to his 13 years in the Las Vegas U.S. Attorneys Office, he served for 8 years in the Northern District of California, prosecuting primarily violent crime and gang cases, including spearheading Operation Garlic Press, a joint state-federal sting, which resulted in 118 arrests, one of the biggest takedowns in California history. He retired in 2013, relocating back to Las Vegas. He has trained Las Vegas Metro, North Las Vegas, and Henderson police and U.S. Probation, addressed inmates at High Desert State Prison, and guest lectured at both UNLV and Boyd School of Law. He also developed several programs in coordination with local police as well as federal agencies in Las Vegas, and well as the Clark County District Attorney's Office. These programs filled a void in enforcement targeting Felons and Firearms, Methamphetamine Labs, and Interstate Trafficking in Juveniles for Prostitution.