Badfellas: Reflections on a Life in the Halls of Justice

“Badfellas” takes the reader behind the scenes to reveal what it is like to be a trial lawyer in justice’s great arena, the courts of America. Mr. Roth writes from the vantage point of an attorney who had been a prosecutor, defense attorney and civil litigant for more than 40 years. His “badfellas” include drug traffickers, organized criminals, terrorists, murders, a pimp, a pedophile priest, and a TV talk show villain. He chooses 7 of his most intriguing cases and trials to tell his compelling story: – “The Smuggler and the Terrorist Prince” The prosecution of America’s most wanted drug smuggler who became a hostage aboard an airliner hijacked by Pakistani terrorists. – “Welcome to Palermo” The prosecution of the first Sicilian Connection heroin importation case, where the top echelon of an entire international smuggling operation was dismantled in coordinated trials in New York and Italy. – “The Charity That Wasn’t” The trial of a gang of incorrigible criminals and murderers which used a charity as a front for their drug organization. – “Hush Money” A lawsuit involving a pedophile priest and the Catholic’s Church’s unsuccessful attempts to conceal the clergyman’s crimes. – “The Mouth That Roared” The defense of a popular television personality who was charged with assaulting a gay rights activist on his show. – “Tony Montana and the Bird Dog” The defense of an Atlantic City pimp accused of laundering money for a 25-year-old crack kingpin who fancied himself the “Tony Montana” of Queens. – “The Bad Side of Mansfield” A DEA Agent who faced the travails of a modern-day Job, all orchestrated by a rogue drug informant whose deceitful conduct turned the criminal justice system upside down.