Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. John H. Riley was an American attorney and railroad transportation administrator. He was born in New york and raised in Danbury, CT, and moved to Minnesota after graduating from law school. Riley went to Washington DC in 1978 as an aide to U.S. Senator David Durenberger and was his chief counsel and later, his chief of staff. In 1982, Riley received a Presidential appointment to serve as head of the Federal Railroad Administration from 1983-1989 in the administration of President Ronald W. Reagan under Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole.