Lawn had served for 15 years as a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1967 to 1982.

As Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio field office from 1980 to 1982, he had directed the successful investigation into the assassination of U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr. Before this historic case, Lawn had supervised all FBI civil rights cases, including allegations of police brutality and color of law complaints.

In addition, he was responsible for background investigations of White House officials, federal judges, and US attorney nominees.

In 1998, he was serving as the chairman and CEO of The Century Council, a national organization dedicated to fighting alcohol abuse.

On Thursday, September 30, 2010, in Washington, D.C., the DEA Educational Foundation honored Mr.