Bradley D. Simon

Last updated

Bradley D. Simon (born June 4, 1956) is an American criminal defense attorney, known for his representation of individuals involved in public corruption cases, most notably the former New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi. [1]

Contents

Early life

Simon was born in New York City. He received his Bachelor of Art's degree, Cum Laude from Harvard in 1978. He received a law degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1981.

Professional career

After working as a law firm associate in private practice in New York, Simon became a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Justice Department in 1987. [2] In 1990 Simon was sworn in as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York where he served until 1998. [3] Later that year he founded Simon & Partners LLP a boutique white collar criminal defense and civil litigation law firm which operated in New York for twenty one years until 2019. [4] After Simon & Partners closed, Simon joined the law firm Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf as a partner. [5] A press release issued on January 2, 2022 by the New York law firm Schlam Stone & Dolan announced that Simon had joined the firm as a partner. The press release mentioned Simon's relationship with the firm going back decades and his close professional relationship with the firm's founders, Harvey Stone and the late Peter Schlam.

Simon currently serves as an instructor at Yale University where he teaches an undergraduate course on White Collar Crime. [6] He has served as an adjunct professor at St. John's University and Fordham Law School and has taught trial advocacy at Emory Law School in Atlanta. [7] He is a member and frequent speaker at the International Section of the American Bar Association, the International Bar Association ("IBA") and the Union International de Avocats ("UIA"). [8]

Notable cases

Alan Hevesi: 2007-2012

Simon represented the former New York State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi, in an investigation conducted by New York State Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, alleging Hevesi mishandled money from the New York State Pension Fund. [9] Regarding Alan Hevesi's decision to hire Brad Simon to represent him in the Attorney General's investigation, The New York Times said “Mr. Hevesi changed lawyers this week and signaled a far more public and combative strategy. His new lawyer, Bradley D. Simon, has represented people caught up in public cases before, including David Chang, a businessman who was a key figure in allegations of improprieties raised about Robert G. Torricelli, the former United States senator from New Jersey.” [10] In a tense exchange between Simon and then Attorney General Cuomo, Simon complained that the Attorney General's Office was leaking information regarding the investigation. For over three years, Hevesi fought the charges aggressively. In September 2010, however, he decided to give up the fight and plead guilty. According to The New York Times, "it appears that it was the fate of Mr. Hevesi’s two son’s, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi and former State Senator Daniel Heveis, that led him to accept the plea deal." [11]

Trump litigation: 2015-2018

Simon represented New York real estate developer Jody Kriss in a one hundred million dollar RICO action involving several Trump properties in New York, Florida and Arizona. The suit, pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York was against Bayrock Group, a real estate development firm which partnered with former president Donald Trump in various real estate projects and one of Bayrock's principals, Felix Sater, the Russian businessman at the epicenter of the Trump Russia inquiry. [12]

Morris Talansky: 2008-2010

Simon represented Morris Talansky, the New York businessman at the center of the corruption case against Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, which led to his expected resignation in September 2008. Simon represented Talansky in a US investigation that came as a result of incriminating testimony that Talansky gave to Israeli authorities in questioning related to the Prime Minister's alleged wrongdoing. Talansky had been asked to give his final interview with Israeli authorities on August 31, 2008, but per Simon's counsel, did not plan to leave the United States.

As a result of Simon's advice not to return for questioning, the Israeli government sought immunity for Talansky in the US.

The New York Times noted in a February 28, 2009 story, "Mr. Talansky was supposed to return in September so that Mr. Olmert’s lawyers could complete their cross-examination. [13] But Talansky’s courtroom testimony in Israel resulted in an investigation in the United States, where he is suspected of money laundering, tax evasion and bribery of a foreign official, although he has not been charged.

Talansky denies all the accusations. But his lawyer, Simon, has advised him not to return to Israel, fearing that his testimony there could further incriminate him in America.

The United States Justice Department agreed in January to grant Talansky partial immunity, saying that future testimony he provided in Israel would not be offered as evidence against him in the United States. Yet the Justice Department said the testimony could be used in other ways, including obtaining leads to other evidence, rendering the deal useless in Simon’s eyes.

In early February, Simon met with the state prosecutors in Israel to try to agree on terms whereby Talansky could testify without worsening his situation back home."

Notwithstanding Simon's advice, Talansky returned to Israel on June 28, 2009, to resume testimony. The Jerusalem Post noted in its June 28, 2009 story that "the key witness [Talansky] in the cash envelopes investigation of Olmert told the court that he returned to Israel despite the objections of his American lawyer Bradley Simon. Talansky told the court that Simon had warned that the Americans would 'eat him up' if he continued his pretrial testimony in Israel. From earlier correspondence between Simon and the Israeli authorities, it was clear that the Americans were investigating Talansky on some of the same issues that are under investigation in Israel."

To date, Talanasky has not been charged in either the United States or Israel.

Jeffrey Tesler: 2009-2013

Simon represented Jeffrey Tesler, a London-based British Solicitor following his indictment in Houston Texas for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. (“FCPA”). Tesler was charged with paying bribes to Nigerian government officials on behalf of Halliburton Inc and its then subsidiary, Kellogg Brown Root during the time that former Vice President Dick Cheney was the chief executive officer of Halliburton. The bribes were allegedly paid by Tesler to assist Halliburton and its joint venture partners, obtain more than $6 billion in contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities, on Bonny Island, off the southern coast of Nigeria. In March 2011, Tesler waived extradition and entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison in Houston. Judge Ellison subsequently sentenced Tesler to a prison term of twenty one months, rejecting the government's arguments for a 78-month sentence. [14] Simon successfully petitioned for a prison transfer for Tesler so that he could serve his sentence in the U.K. Tesler was released by U.K. authorities shortly after arriving on British soil.

David Rubin: 2011-2014

Simon represented David Rubin, president and chief executive officer of CDR Financial Products Inc., a Beverly Hills financial services company. Rubin, CDR and others were charged in a federal indictment alleging a bid rigging conspiracy in the municipal bond market and other anti-trust violations. It was Rubin's campaign contributions to New Mexico governor Bill Richardson which derailed President Obama's selection of Richardson to be Commerce Secretary in 2009.

In December 2011, Simon filed a Writ of Mandamus with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit after the trial Judge, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, denied Simon's request to have the trial postponed due to the deteriorating medical condition of Rubin's wife. [15] [16] Rubin subsequently entered a guilty plea indicating that he could not leave his wife at their home in Los Angeles to attend his two-month trial.

Simon and his firm filed a 106-page sentencing memorandum before the new judge, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood, asking for a sentence of probation. The government countered with a request for a nineteen-year prison sentence. Judge Wood sided with Simon, prompting criticism from many who argued that the sentence was far too lenient and that Rubin, who was able to afford high-priced counsel, should not be spared prison while others less culpable were incarcerated. [17] Forbes Magazine, in reporting on Rubin's sentencing stated: “In this case, Rubin got as good a deal as he could have hoped for, but others will serve his prison time.” [18]

David Chang: 2000-2003

He has been sought after to represent individuals involved in high-profile legal matters such as David Chang – a central figure in the litigation that led to the resignation of the former United States Senator from New Jersey, Robert G. Torricelli.

Commenting on Simon's role in the Torricelli case, The Philadelphia Inquirer said, [19] “He may not have knocked Robert G. Torricelli out of the New Jersey Senate race, but in a postmortem of the senator's dizzying fall, Bradley D. Simon may go down as having given a solid push.” The Inquirer continues: “Simon filed a memo in May with a federal court in Newark, New Jersey, asking for a reduction in Chang's sentence. The real villain, Simon wrote, is Torricelli. The memo details Chang's cash payments to Torricelli, lists the favors Torricelli allegedly gave in return, mentions corroborating witnesses, and accuses Torricelli of having "dodged, weaved and outright lied." Simon's memo led to the release four months later of a government document that helped sink the Torricelli campaign.” [20]

James Marquez: 2007-2008

Simon also represented James Marquez in the $450 million dollar collapse of the Bayou Hedge Fund Group, which is among the first criminal prosecutions of a hedge fund collapse to date. [21]

Frank Borghese: 2004-2011

Beginning in 2004, Simon represented Frank Borghese, the former vice president of Symbol Technologies Inc. (acquired by Motorola in 2007) in a case that resulted in a ruling that Borghese, along with one other co-defendant, were barred from a re-trial because of double jeopardy. The New York Law Journal cited this decision as "unprecedented” from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. [22]

[23]

Other work

Simon is frequently called upon by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and other media outlets to offer commentary on legal issues involving white collar crime. Simon has been interviewed extensively regarding the government's insider trading cases. Simon has sharply criticized the government for focusing on mid-level and lower lever traders while failing to prosecute titans such as SAC Capital hedge fund's founder, Steven Cohen. [24] In March 2013 the New Yorker Magazine published a controversial expose by investigative reporter John Cassidy, entitled: “Is Steven Cohen Buying Off the U.S. Government.” Cassidy interviewed Simon in support of his contention that the government lacked the will and fortitude to charge Cohen while not hesitating to indict his underlings., “ I read the Martoma complaint,” Bradley Simon, a prominent white collar defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, told me. “ It seems like there’s evidence for them to charge Cohen, but they don’t want to do it.” [25]

A controversial New York Daily News column by Simon appeared on the eve of the 2016 presidential election entitled, “Bureau Boss is a Good Guy in a Tight Situation.” Simon defended the actions of FBI Director James Comey in reopening the Hillary Clinton email investigation, arguing that Comey was left with no choice. [26]

Simon has been quoted in the New York Times and other publications in connection with the indictments arising out of the college admissions corruption scandal. [27] [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moshe Katsav</span> President of Israel from 2000 to 2007

Moshe Katsav is an Israeli former politician who was the eighth President of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its cabinet. He was the first Mizrahi Jew to be elected to the presidency, and second non-Ashkenazi president after Yitzhak Navon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubin Carter</span> American boxer (1937–2014)

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was an American-Canadian middleweight boxer who was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for murder, until released following a petition of habeas corpus after almost 20 years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Seven</span> Defendants in a 1969–70 trial

The Chicago Seven, originally the Chicago Eight and also known as the Conspiracy Eight or Conspiracy Seven, were seven defendants – Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Lee Weiner – charged by the United States Department of Justice with conspiracy, crossing state lines with intent to incite a riot, and other charges related to anti-Vietnam War and 1960s counterculture protests in Chicago, Illinois during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The Chicago Eight became the Chicago Seven after the case against codefendant Bobby Seale was declared a mistrial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yigal Amir</span> Israeli assassin (born 1970)

Yigal Amir is an Israeli right-wing extremist who assassinated incumbent Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995, at the conclusion of a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel. At the time of the murder, he was a law student at Bar-Ilan University. Amir is serving a life sentence for murder plus six years for injuring Rabin's bodyguard. He was later sentenced to an additional eight years for conspiracy to murder. Amir has never expressed regret over the assassination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ehud Olmert</span> Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009

Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006. Between his first and second stints as a cabinet member, he served as mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003. After serving as prime minister, he was sentenced to serve a prison term over convictions for accepting bribes and for obstruction of justice during his terms as mayor of Jerusalem and as trade minister.

Webster Lee "Webb" Hubbell is a former United States Associate Attorney General from 1993 to 1994 who as part of the Whitewater controversy pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of failing to disclose a conflict of interest, and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Bernard William Nussbaum was an American attorney, best known for having served as White House Counsel under President Bill Clinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haim Ramon</span> Israeli politician (born 1950)

Haim Ramon is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1983 and 2009, and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judiciary of Israel</span> Part of the article of the series of government of Israel

The judicial system of Israel consists of secular courts and religious courts. The law courts constitute a separate and independent unit of Israel's Ministry of Justice. The system is headed by the President of the Supreme Court and the Minister of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Kathryn Johnston</span> 2006 police killing

Kathryn Johnston was an elderly woman from Atlanta, Georgia who was killed by undercover police officers in her home on Neal Street in northwest Atlanta on November 21, 2006, where she had lived for 17 years. Three officers had entered her home in what was later described as a 'botched' drug raid. Officers cut off burglar bars and broke down her door using a no-knock warrant. Police said Johnston fired at them and they fired in response; she fired one shot out the door over the officers' heads and they fired 39 shots, five or six of which hit her. None of the officers were injured by her gunfire, but Johnston was killed by the officers. Police injuries were later attributed to friendly fire from each other's weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neal Sher</span> American lawyer (1947–2021)

Neal M. Sher was an American lawyer who served as head of the Office of Special Investigations of the United States Department of Justice and as executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Since 2002, he was a solo practitioner in New York City and, since 2020, in Southampton, New York, as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scooter Libby</span> American lawyer and political advisor

Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby is an American lawyer and former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney known for his high-profile indictment and clemency.

The Barry Bonds perjury case was a case of alleged perjury regarding use of anabolic steroids by former San Francisco Giants outfielder and all-time Major League Baseball (MLB) career home run leader, Barry Bonds, and the related investigations surrounding these accusations. On April 13, 2011, Bonds was convicted of one felony count of obstruction of justice for giving an incomplete answer to a question in grand jury testimony. A mistrial was declared on the remaining three counts of perjury, and those charges were dropped. The obstruction of justice conviction was upheld by an appellate panel in 2013, but a larger panel of the appellate court exonerated him in 2015 by a 10-1 vote.

Morris "Moshe" Talansky is an American businessman and Orthodox rabbi who co-founded the New Jerusalem Foundation with Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister of Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holyland Case</span> Corruption case im Israel

The Holyland Case, named for the Holyland Park building complex in Jerusalem, was a high-profile corruption case in which top Israeli officials were charged with bribery and money laundering, among them former Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the former mayor of Jerusalem Uri Lupolianski. Of the 13 defendants, three were acquitted and ten, including Olmert, were found guilty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trial of Benjamin Netanyahu</span> Corruption trial of Israeli Prime Minister

The trial of Benjamin Netanyahu began following investigations into allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust by him and close political allies within his inner circle during his fourth and fifth terms as Israel's prime minister. The Israel Police began investigating Netanyahu in December 2016 and subsequently recommended indictments against him.

This is a timeline of events in the first half of 2019 related to investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, both before and after July 2016, until November 8, 2016, the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and followed by the second half of 2019, 2020, and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Wexler</span> American attorney (born 1946)

Joan Gottesman Wexler is an American attorney who is a former dean and president of Brooklyn Law School. She is also a former president of the Federal Bar Council.

Mark Floyd Pomerantz is an American attorney. He is a member of the New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, generally referred to as Paul, Weiss. In February 2021, he left that firm to assist with the Manhattan District Attorney's investigation into the finances of former president Donald Trump until his resignation from the case in February 2022.

Stanley Edmund Woodward Jr. is an American attorney with Brand Woodward Law. His clients have included those subpoenaed or convicted for the January 6 United States Capitol attack, and aides to Donald Trump.

References

  1. ↑ "Hevesi Aides Indicted in Kickback Scheme." The New York Times
  2. ↑ Schlam Stone & Dolan
  3. ↑ Schlam Stone & Dolan
  4. ↑ Schlam Stone & Dolan
  5. ↑ Crain's New York Business, "People on the Move"
  6. ↑ Yale College Catalogue, Spring 2024, Exploring and Understanding White Collar Crime"
  7. ↑ Schlam Stone & Dolan
  8. ↑ Schlam Stone & Dolan
  9. ↑ "Hevesi Aides Indicted in Kickback Scheme." The New York Times March 20, 2009 article
  10. ↑ New York Times, Danny Hakim, July 21, 2007, https://www.scribd.com/doc/48434966/NYT-070721-Hevesi-Counterattack
  11. ↑ "Guilty Plea Expected by Ex-New York Comptroller Hevesi in Corruption Case." September 28, 2010 article
  12. ↑ "Trump, Russia and a Shadowy Business Partnership" June 21, 2017 article
  13. ↑ "Legal Battles Await Israeli Premier, Olmert, As Term Ends." The New York Times February 28, 2009 article
  14. ↑ "KBR CEO, UK Middleman Sentenced Over Nigeria Bribery." January 23, 2012
  15. ↑ "Rubin Loses Bid For Delay." December 28, 2011
  16. ↑ "CDR Financial’s Rubin Can’t Delay Trial for Dying Wife." December 28, 2011
  17. ↑ "Judge: Prison Unwarranted for Bid-Rigger Rubin." March 13, 2014
  18. ↑ "Muni Bond Rate-Rigging Kingpin, David Rubin, Gets Probation." March 13, 2014
  19. ↑ Philadelphia Inquirer', October 14, 2002 story, page A04
  20. ↑ New York Law Journal, April 5, 2010 https://www.scribd.com/doc/48432787/Entrepreneurs-in-Law
  21. ↑ "Bayou Co-Founder Gets 41⁄4 Year Sentence for Fraud." Bloomberg News January 22, 2008 article
  22. ↑ Mark Hamblett, The New York Law Journal , August 29, 2007, https://www.scribd.com/doc/48434480/Borghese-Law-Journal-AY
  23. ↑ BusinessWeek, August 27, 2007, https://www.scribd.com/doc/48434714/Borghese-Business-Week-AY
  24. ↑ The New York Times, Peter Lattman, "Divided Views of SAC Capital Settlement", March 17, 2013,
  25. ↑ The New Yorker, John Cassidy, "Is Steven A. Cohen Buying Off the U.S. Government?", March 28, 2013,
  26. ↑ "FBI Director James Comey is a good guy in a bad situation" October 30, 2016
  27. ↑ Taylor, Kate; Oppel, Richard A. Jr; Medina, Jennifer (9 April 2019). "Lori Loughlin and 15 Others Face New Charges in College Admissions Scandal". The New York Times.
  28. ↑ Taylor, Kate; Bosman, Julie (13 May 2019). "Felicity Huffman's Guilty Plea Could Bring 4 Months in Jail". The New York Times.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.