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Who

A longtime criminal defense lawyer, Ron Fischetti is most famous for defending mobsters and crooked cops.

Backstory

The Brooklyn-born Fischetti attended St. John's Law at night, graduating in 1961 "in the top ten per cent of the bottom third of my class." Fischetti spent his early career toiling in low-level Brooklyn politics; by the early '70s, he was working for Jimmy LaRossa, a popular Mob lawyer in Brooklyn. Fischetti earned some attention a few years later when he defended Rep. Bertram Podell in a corruption suit—he ended up losing the case to a young prosecutor by the name of Rudolph Giuliani. In 1977, he teamed up with a colleague in LaRossa's office, Gerald Shargel, and started his own firm. The duo split up two years later, but Fischetti has been defending crooks of all stripes on his own ever since. He's repped mobsters (like Gene Gotti, the brother of John) and politicians (like former Congressman Robert Garcia, who was accused of extorting money from military contractor Wedtech) and earned his most high-profile case in the late '90s when he got involved in the Abner Louima brouhaha. Fischetti defended Chuck Schwarz, one of the police officers charged with the brutal assault on the Haitian immigrant. After five years of litigation, Schwarz accepted a five-year sentence for perjury in exchange for prosecutors dropping the charges that he violated Louima's civil rights.

Of note

Fischetti hasn't lacked for high-profile clients in recent years. In 2000 he represented infamous money manager Dana Giacchetto, who was accused of swiping $9 million from star clients including Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, and Tobey Maguire. He defended restaurateur Elaine Kaufmann after she was arrested for punching a patron at her restaurant. And he came to the defense of WABC anchorman Steve Bartelstein after he was accused of sexually harassing a male co-worker. In December 2006, Fischetti signed on to defend Broadway actor James Barbour—the star of Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast—who eventually admitted to fondling a 15-year-old backstage at one of his plays. More recently, he defended Judge Gerald Garson, the Brooklyn matrimonial judge who was convicted of accepting bribes.

On the side

Fischetti teaches at Fordham Law. A regular guest on cable news programs, he was a frequent commentator for CNBC and MSNBC during the Martha Stewart trial in 2004.

Personal

Fischetti lives in Greenwich, Conn. Looking for free legal advice? Try cornering him at the Winged Foot Golf Club in Westchester on the weekend.