Accused of ties to organized crime, former Labor Secretary Raymond J. Donovan faced intense investigation during the 1980s. Questions about Donovan's past emerged almost from the moment that he was nominated for the job in 1981. Although confirmed by the Senate, the former construction company executive resigned his post after one term when he became the target of two independent counsel probes as well as state prosecution in New York. Both times, the federal probes were dropped. In 1987, Donovan's legal ordeal ended when a Bronx jury acquitted him on ten criminal counts.

A New Jersey native and a graduate in philosophy from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Donovan was successful in the construction business. He was vice president of the Schiavone Construction Company when he became involved in Republican politics, twice active in Ronald Reagan's abortive 1976 and successful 1980 presidential campaigns. Upon election, Reagan appointed Donovan to head his...