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Thomas "Tommy" Volker is a recurring character throughout Season 5 who first appeared in the fifth season episode If It Bleeds, It Leads. He is a multi-millionaire adventurer who first comes under suspicion when a television reporter is killed.

Biography[]

Volker is a fabulously wealthy, charming and attractive business mogul with a thinly-veiled air of villainy. As the head of the Volker Industries, he is one of the most powerful men in the United States. He claims to be a good friend of the governor. He is the mastermind behind a massacre of Amazon villagers who obstructed his geothermal development plan in the Amazon forest. He also ordered and watched with relish the murder of his secretary, when he discovered she had provided details about his crime to Lisbon.

Of all possible villains in the series, he is the only one who could claim to have been slandered by being called "a sad tormented ugly little man," as he is handsome, rich, and socially adept, and seems to experience no torment at all about being evil. He's a disturbing sociopath. 

Lisbon finally gets another stab at Volker during Days of Wine and Roses and Little Red Corvette, when he is finally injured in gunfire and arrested by Lisbon, with Patrick Jane helping.

Volker is pure evil and basically the equivalent of Red John (at this moment in the show) for Lisbon, according to the creator Bruno Heller

Victims[]

The following were targeted by either Charles Milk, Donald Clyde, Mark Costa on Volker's orders or Volker personally

  • Some time before 2012:
  • Unknown number of tribesmen (including parents and sister of Taki Ñahuis Cuya)
  • 2012:
    • Horatio Jones (employee of Volker industries who was going to reveal the unethical action of Volker. Jones was strangled to death by Milk while Volker and second henchman Donald Clyde watched)
    • Cassandra Flood (news reporter who was going to reveal the Volker-ordered execution of Amazon villagers who opposed the Volker's planned geothermal development in the Amazon rainforest. Volker tricked newsman Ed Hunt into cutting Flood's brakes to scare her out of reporting on Volker's order to massacre Amazon villagers. Milk suffocated Flood, when Flood was still alive after her car crash, to make her death look like a result of the car accident)
    • Amanda Shaw (secretary to Volker who tipped Lisbon off to the fact that Volker had Cassandra Floods murdered. Strangled to death by Milk while Volker watched, and then staged by Milk to look like a suicide)
  • 2013:
    • The drive-by shooting (three fatalities: committed by Donald Clyde and Mark Costa)
      • Charles Milk (Lisbon obtained a warrant for Milk; if Milk was arrested, Milk could then lead the police to Volker, who ordered the crimes)
      • Bob Miller (innocent bystander in drive-by shooting)
      • Sarah Miller (innocent bystander in drive-by shooting)
    • Donald Clyde (Volker threatened him, leading to Clyde committing suicide by stepping in front of a moving bus)

Attempted[]

  • Marvin Pettigrew (attempted to have Mark Costa kill him, then later tried to kill him personally but failed)
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