Biography

A graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, from which he received a B.S. in International Affairs, cum laude, and Fordham University School of Law, Michael is admitted to practice law before all the courts in the State of New York as well as before the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. Michael practices in other jurisdictions by permission of their respective courts.

Michael served as the Chief Investigative Counsel for the Volcker Commission, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker who investigated the UN Oil-for-Food Program which permitted Saddam Hussein, to sell Iraqi oil, under UN supervision, in order to purchase food and humanitarian goods. Operating from offices in Baghdad, Manhattan and Paris, Michael's staff uncovered extensive evidence of bribery, kickbacks and illegal oil smuggling, allowing Hussein to secretly garner approximately $10 billion. The efforts of Michael and his Commission staff, who worked closely with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Manhattan District Attorney, resulted in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars and the unprecedented indictment and criminal conviction of UN officials in U.S. courts.

On his appointment to the United States Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, Michael left a law firm partnership. He served as a Deputy Chief in the Criminal Division supervising investigations and trials in the Long Island Division, Central Islip, N.Y., while personally trying primarily white collar crime cases. He later was appointed by the Attorney General of the United States as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Business and Securities Fraud Section, in Brooklyn, N.Y. There, Michael successfully prosecuted the CEOs of Benihana (insider trading), Computer Associates (securities fraud), Conair Corp. (income tax evasion), Spectrum Information Technologies (wire fraud) and Numisgroup International (mail fraud).

After graduation from law school, Michael served as a Principal Assistant District Attorney and Unit Chief in the Office of the Suffolk County, N.Y., District Attorney where he investigated and tried murder and sex crimes cases in the Major Offense Bureau, and fraud and public corruption cases in the Special Investigations Unit.



Back to Top