Lawrence G. Lawler; Ex-Head of FBI in L.A.

Lawrence G. (Larry) Lawler, 56, former special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Lawler, who grew up in Oakland, studied mathematics at San Francisco State. He began his career as an Oakland police officer and in 1965 was named special agent in charge of the FBI there. He also served the FBI in El Paso and Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, Wash., and was special agent in charge of FBI units in Jacksonville, Fla., Minneapolis and Los Angeles. Although he worked on several major cases, including the Patty Hearst kidnapping and the mass deaths in Jonestown, Guyana, he was proudest of his work with the National Crime Information Center. Based in Washington, the center is a computer linkup of all law enforcement agencies in the United States. In 1990, Lawler received the President’s Award for outstanding service to the country. At the time of his retirement, Lawler also received the Los Angeles Police Commission medal for outstanding service. Lawler was credited with steering the Los Angeles bureau through three rough years that included discrimination litigation and the conviction of agent Richard W. Miller for espionage. But Lawler surprised colleagues by retiring in 1991 at the age of 50 to start his own investigative consulting firm. That firm performed background checks on current Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams before he was hired. On Monday in Los Angeles of cancer.