Thomas H. Boggs Jr. | Washington lobbyist, 73

Thomas Hale Boggs Jr., 73, a son of congressional royalty, who evolved into a top-tier lobbyist and prolific Democratic fund-raiser and embodied what it meant to have Washington clout, died Monday at his Chevy Chase, Md., home. The cause of death has not been determined, but the family suspected a heart attack.

Mr. Boggs was a driving force in transforming the law firm now known as Squire, Patton, Boggs into one of Washington's most-influential and best-known lobbying powerhouses. A Washington lifer with an encyclopedic list of Democratic contacts, he was also one of the party's most successful fund-raisers - a combination that over the decades propelled him to the upper ranks of the capital's power-brokers.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.),opened Monday's session by paying him tribute, calling him "an institution in this city."

Mr. Boggs was the son of the late House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, a Louisiana Democrat, and Lindy Boggs, who succeeded her husband in Congress after he died in a 1972 plane crash during a campaign trip to Alaska. His sister is journalist Cokie Roberts.

At Patton Boggs, - as the law firm was known until recently - Mr. Boggs had been responsible in 1979 for helping shepherd the $1.5 billion federal bailout of Chrysler through Congress. His firm also played a major role in crafting the North American Free Trade Agreement. - AP