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Edward A. McDonald (born 1947) is an American criminal defense lawyer and actor. He practices law at the New York City branch of Dechert LLP, primarily working on white-collar crime and securities law. McDonald has appeared in Goodfellas and in Kiss of Death .
McDonald graduated from Xaverian High School in Brooklyn and then attended Boston College, earning a degree in 1968. He earned his juris doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center. After serving as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan for five years, McDonald joined the United States Organized Crime Strike Force in 1977. McDonald prosecuted a case involving the 1978–79 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal for the Justice Department in 1981. [1] [2]
As a prosecutor, McDonald sponsored Henry Hill in significant cases in which he testified, including the Boston College point-shaving case. McDonald also helped get Hill and his wife Karen Friedman Hill into the United States Federal Witness Protection Program (WPP). Martin Scorsese cast McDonald to play himself in the 1990 film Goodfellas in a scene in which McDonald negotiates to get the Hills into the WPP. McDonald improvised the line, "Don't give me the babe-in-the-woods routine, Karen. I heard you on those wiretaps." [3] The line was based on what McDonald recalled saying to the real Karen Hill. [4]
McDonald started practicing law privately in 1989. [5] In 2011, the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York hired McDonald and other high-profile lawyers to defend against a massive ticket fixing scandal. [6] McDonald represented former mobster Joseph Massino in 2013 after Massino's two life sentences, imposed in 2011, were commuted by a federal judge. [7]
He has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1990. He is married and has three children. [5]
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
Goodfellas is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book Wiseguy by Pileggi. Starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino, the film narrates the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill and his friends and family from 1955 to 1980.
James Burke, also known as "Jimmy the Gent," was an American gangster and Lucchese crime family associate who is believed to have organized the 1978 Lufthansa heist, the largest cash robbery in American history at the time. He is believed responsible for the deaths of those involved in the months following the robbery.
Joseph Charles Massino is an American former mobster. He was a member of the Mafia and boss of the Bonanno crime family from 1991 until 2004, when he became the first boss of one of the Five Families in New York City to turn state's evidence.
Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale is an American former underboss of the Bonanno crime family before he became a government informant. After his arrest in 2003, Vitale agreed to cooperate with the government and testify against his brother-in-law, boss Joseph Massino, and in July 2004, Massino was convicted in a RICO case. Vitale had admitted to 11 murders, however, in October 2010, was sentenced to time served due to his cooperation, and entered the witness protection program.
Henry Hill Jr. was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testified against his former Mafia associates, resulting in 50 convictions, including those of caporegime (captain) Paul Vario and fellow associate James Burke on multiple charges. He subsequently entered the Witness Protection Program, but was removed from the program in the early 1990s.
Dechert LLP is an American multinational law firm of more than 900 lawyers with practices in corporate and securities, complex litigation, finance and real estate, financial services, asset management, and private equity. In 2021, the firm raised revenues by 25%, with a total of $1.3 billion.
The 1978–79 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal involved a scheme in which members of the American Mafia recruited and bribed several Boston College Eagles men's basketball players to ensure the team would not win by the required margin, allowing gamblers in the know to place wagers against that team and win.
Vincent Asaro is an American mobster and former captain in the Bonanno crime family.
Anthony "Old Man" Spero was an Italian-American mobster who rose to the postion of consigliere and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family.
The Bonanno crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia.
Vincent John Basciano is an American mobster who became boss of the Bonanno crime family after the arrest of boss Joseph Massino. Basciano was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 2011.
Andrew J. Levander is an American lawyer and Chairman of the law firm Dechert, who advises on securities fraud, commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense matters. A former federal prosecutor, he is known for representing numerous prominent Wall Street companies and executives, as well as global businesses facing litigation.
Daniel Simone is an American author who specializes in writing about sensational crimes in collaboration with one of the perpetrators or investigators of the actual event.
The Lufthansa Heist: Behind the Six-Million-Dollar Cash Haul That Shook the World is a non-fiction book written by Daniel Simone in collaboration with Henry Hill. It was published by Lyons Press, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield, on August 1, 2015.
Steven Andrew Engel is an American lawyer. He served as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Donald Trump administration. Engel, who previously worked in the George W. Bush administration as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel, was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and confirmed on November 7, 2017. On January 20, 2021, he was succeeded by Christopher H. Schroeder, serving under the Biden Administration.
Andrew E. Lelling is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 2017 to 2021. He is best known for leading Operation Varsity Blues, the federal investigation and prosecution of a massive nationwide college admissions scandal, and the prosecution of six eBay employees involved in the eBay stalking scandal which involved the terrorizing of a middle-aged couple living in greater Boston, Massachusetts. His tenure was also marked by major gang and healthcare enforcement actions. Lelling, however, was also criticized as being "overzealous, grandstanding, and politically motivated" for his prosecution of a local trial judge who helped an undocumented immigrant charged with drug crimes avoid arrest by immigration authorities.
Greg Donald Andres is an American attorney, who most notably served as an Assistant Special Counsel for Russian interference in 2016 United States elections under Robert Mueller. He rejoined the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell in June 2019.
Keith M. Davidson is an attorney in Beverly Hills, California. Davidson has represented clients who sought nondisclosure agreement settlements from notable individuals, including Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, and Hulk Hogan. He has also managed professional boxers Manny Pacquiao and James Toney.
David Oscar Markus is a criminal defense trial and appellate attorney practicing in Miami, Florida and throughout the United States. Markus is the host of the For The Defense podcast, produced by Rakontur. He also is the author of the Southern District of Florida Blog, which launched in 2005 and covers matters related to federal law practice in South Florida.