Eric Seidel assists in the areas of complex internal and external investigations, on-line gaming, electronic surveillance, terrorism and terrorist financing, and compliance monitorships. For over 35 years prior to joining the Firm, he was a state and federal prosecutor serving with distinction in several of the nation’s premier prosecutorial offices. From 1978 to 1995, Mr. Seidel was an Assistant District Attorney in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, serving as a supervisor in the Homicide Bureau and Chief of the Organized Crime Bureau. In the Homicide Bureau, Mr. Seidel tried approximately 30 murder cases to verdict. From 1995 to 1996, Mr. Seidel was the Deputy Attorney General in Charge of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force and from 1996 to 1999 he was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York where he was primarily assigned to the Organized Crime and Terrorism Unit. From 1999 to 2016, Mr. Seidel was an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office where he was appointed by District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau to the positions of Chief of the Rackets Bureau and Counsel to the Investigation Division.
Mr. Seidel has decades-long experience in New York State and Federal investigations and prosecutions encompassing complex white collar fraud, tax crimes, money laundering, organized crime, political corruption, illegal on-line gambling, racketeering, and terrorism. He has personally tried over 75 felony cases to verdict including the conviction of the killer of the first female NYPD Police Officer killed in the line of duty. Among the cases he has personally investigated and prosecuted are those involving a major restaurateur for a massive international tax evasion scheme, a political operative for the theft of $750,000 from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and a software company for facilitating illegal on-line gambling in violation of New York law. Mr. Seidel also has extensive experience in the area of internal corporate compliance and has supervised numerous external corporate monitors in a broad array of disciplines. He has specific specifically concentrated on Federal and New York State electronic surveillance issues and in dealing with cases that involve mass data collection, analysis, and trial admissibility.
Mr. Seidel is an Adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School where he teaches a seminar on organized crime. He has also been a Visiting Professor at Bar Ilan University School of Law in Israel. On behalf of the United States Departments of Justice and State, Mr. Seidel has lectured before prosecutors and judges on witness security, money laundering, and political corruption in numerous countries including Serbia, Lithuania, Poland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Kosovo, and Sri Lanka, and has participated in a trial advocacy program for prosecutors in Malaysia.
Mr.Seidel is the recipient of numerous awards including honorary membership in the NYPD Honor Legion, and commendations from the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Israel National Police. Mr. Seidel is fluent in Hebrew and has served in the Israeli Defense Forces.
EDUCATION
- Columbia University, BA
- Brooklyn Law School, JD
ADMISSIONS
- New York State
- Southern District of New York
- Eastern District of New York