Episode 179 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Retired U.S. Immigration Judge Richard (Rico) Bartolomei

Rico has been a very close friend of mine who I have known since we were young U.S. Army JAG First Lieutenants at Fort Bliss, Texas. Beyond that, Rico introduced me to my wife of 36 years, Patty, as we all lived in the same apartment complex on the west side of El Paso. As I always describe to people, Rico is the closest individual to being a “Renaissance man” that I have ever met. Everything that he does, he does great! His reputation at Fort Bliss was that of a fantastic lawyer whom everyone respected. On this episode of the podcast, we talk about the arc of his career. Here are two facts that I have always really enjoyed about him –Rico’s burning desire to attend the University of Notre Dame since he was very young, as seen here, and also his knowledge that he would be involved in immigration law for the long term of his career, as seen here in the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, Volume 1, Number 1 as editor in chief. Rico is a great guy, widely admired, and a friend and mentor to many. I enjoyed catching up with him on this episode of the podcast.