On August 30, 2023, in United States v. Avenatti, the Second Circuit (Walker, Raggi, Park) put another nail in the coffin of disgraced former celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti. Avenatti became well-known in 2018 due to his...more
Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States tossed the convictions of two defendants found guilty of public corruption charges during former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s term. The opinions, Ciminelli v. United States and...more
In a pair of criminal cases , the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a one-two punch to the Justice Department’s prosecution of corruption cases based on violations of the criminal wire fraud statute. In Ciminelli v. U.S., and...more
On May 11, 2023, in Percoco v. United States, 598 U.S. ___ (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court once again reined in an expansive public corruption prosecution brought by the Department of Justice by overturning a wire fraud...more
On Tuesday, former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver received a welcomed victory, albeit partial, in the Government’s long running prosecution accusing him of fraud, extortion and money laundering....more
The Second Circuit (Winter, Raggi, Hellerstein by designation)yesterday, vacated by summary order the convictions of former New York State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son Adam Skelos. Dean and Adam Skelos were...more
On July 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the conviction of former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was convicted in 2015 on seven counts of honest services fraud, Hobbs Act...more
Yesterday the Second Circuit (Cabranes, Wesley, Sessions, D.J.) released an opinion vacating the conviction of Sheldon Silver and remanding the case to the district court for further proceedings including a retrial. The...more