Big man, big voice, large presence in a courtroom, even when he wasn’t in one. Jimmy Pickerstein’s boisterous hallway conviviality could be heard booming larger than the loudest drum in the biggest band in the land. Then, he’d throw open the courtroom doors.
As a young federal prosecutor Pickerstein investigated public corruption in Bridgeport, imprisoned Hell’s Angels Danny Bifield and probed municipal cops. As a seasoned criminal defense attorney he represented Paul Pinto in the Joe Ganim federal corruption probe as well as many other wayward figures. But like the clients he represented he lost his way; financially strapped he fleeced hundreds of thousands of dollars from his mobbed-up client James Galante who surreptitiously recorded his lawyer when suspicious of his venality and then shared the recording with the feds.
Pickerstein passed away on Tuesday, according to a death notice by the Abraham L. Green & Son Funeral Home. He was 76.
As a young reporter I covered Pickerstein’s federal cases that examined gangsters, cops, politicians. “If you’re involved in Bridgeport,” he once told me, backhanding his suit lapel “you’re gonna get some mud on you. You just hope it’s not too much.”
Often his bark was worse than his bite. His signature bow tie seemed to temper the bravado.
The Galante revelations several years ago forced Pickerstein to quit the bar. He was charged federally, a shock that shook the legal community.
“That will kill me as a lawyer, don’t ruin my career,” Pickerstein begged Galante who recorded him. “I was jammed up with my firm, I’m broke, my son hasn’t worked, my wife’s medicine is $3,500 a month.”
Galante, who had his own issues in the waste disposal business that would eventually imprison him, didn’t waste much time turning in Pickerstein.
At sentencing U.S. District Judge Victor Bolden declared, “You violated one of the cardinal rules of practicing law using your client’s funds as your own money.”
The totality of Pickersetin’s life, however, was noted by the judge who sentenced the then 70-year-old to a 30-day stay.
Pickerstein was a legendary figure in the legal community, the attorney to hire when you wanted to settle a case. And if the client didn’t want to settle he’d put him on the stand right then and there in his office. Translation: cut your losses and move on with your life. He understood the reality of the federal resources against a client who’d be hard pressed to persuade a jury he did nothing wrong, especially during the era of the mandatory–now vanquished–federal sentencing guidelines that transformed prisons into hideous warehouses of street corner marijuana dealers.
More than 20 years ago I faced my own involuntary collegiate vacation from the Ganim case. I called Pickerstein. “Lennie, what did you do!” he boomed, a statement, not a question. “I can’t represent you. Every lawyer this end of the state is conflicted out. You need someone? Call this guy Jamie Cowdery.”
Cowdery, who practiced in Hartford, became my lawyer and friend.
The early 2000s was surreal. Pick was among the lawyers who’d call me, after my year in college, to talk clients off the ledge facing time. “My guy’s freaking out!”
Most lawyers know nothing about life in the can. I visited his Fairfield law office to explain to his guy about navigating a closed society. The poor bastard was a low-level mule in a round-up pot organization. State system, slap on the wrist, go home. Federal system back then, thanks to the idiocy of the mandatory guidelines, usually sent you away.
The rules and laws are different today.
When I was done with his client, unexpectedly, Pickerstein reached into his pocket. He pulled out a wad of cash. “Take it, take it,” he said.
Big man, big heart.
Funeral home obit:
Harold James Pickerstein (H. James or Jim) passed away on August 30, 2022 following a long battle with cancer.
Jim was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on July 9, 1946, the only child of Maurice and Sylvia (née Kornblut). Pickerstein’s initial love of knowledge was sharpened at the Unquowa School, followed by The Gunnery (’63) the University of Pennsylvania (’67) and finally law school at Boston University (’70). While in Philadelphia at UPenn, he met the love of his life Marjorie Feldman. Married in 1968, Jim and Marjorie started their life together in Washington, D.C., where Pickerstein joined the Honor’s Program at the US Department of Justice following graduation. There, they welcomed their first child, Andrew, and relocated to Fairfield where he joined the US Attorney’s office for the District of Connecticut.
Back in Connecticut, Pickerstein continued his service to the country as an Assistant United States Attorney, including a tenure as Acting US Attorney in 1974, possibly the youngest person to ever fill this position. Jim and Marjorie welcomed Michael and finally Edward as their lives and family progressed. In 1986, after 16 years of government service, Pickerstein entered private practice. During his time in the US Attorney’s office, Pickerstein tried many significant cases, displaying outstanding skill as a litigator, as well as an abundance of compassion for victims, some of whom became lasting friends.
Throughout his life, his compassion and care were evident; always available to friends and colleagues to provide guidance and support in whatever form was necessary. Numerous lifelong bonds were formed throughout his career by those who came into contact with Jim. Pickerstein could be identified by his booming voice, both in and out of court, and larger than life personality. Jim loved a laugh, sharing stories of the law with his colleagues, demonstrating his knowledge of local history with anyone that would listen, his huskies and pugs, and the NY Giants.
Jim was a voracious reader, lover of history, faith, family and friends. Pickerstein was a mentor and friend to countless attorneys, a longtime cherished member of the legal community, his congregation, and most importantly his family. Over the past two decades, Jim’s biggest love was his seven grandchildren. Isaac, Jade, Skylar, Tallulah and Reed Pickerstein and James and Cecilia McIntosh were the center of Pickerstein’s world, the pride and joy of his life. Jim is preceded by the tragic and untimely death of son Edward, with whom he is now reunited in the eternal life.
Funeral services will be held at Congregation Beth-El, 1200 Fairfield Woods Road, Fairfield on Sunday, September 4 at 10:30 a.m., followed by burial and visitation.In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in Jim’s honor to Jewish Senior Services, Foundation, 4200 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604 or visit jseniors.org.
Lennie,
Thank you for humanizing by personalizing stories from the life of James Pickerstein, recently deceased. You have shared events from your life and experience with him through the years that make his life memorable for potential lessons to younger folks. And noted his practice of bow tie dress.
Financial need, especially to assist the physical care of a loved one, can be a strong motivator to consider known and otherwise avoidable behavior, it seems; but once a line is crossed, so is personal independence, integrity, and ultimately freedom been compromised and at risk.
No one is perfect or leads a perfect life. And no recounting of personal behavior and perhaps remorse constitutes a do-over that wipes away community memory or concern regarding future behavior it seems. May we remember the way he practiced his vocation for most of his career and the respect he earned from associates in his field. He has passed from us today but his entire legal career can be kept in mind as a guardrail of public trust, especially in these times. Time will tell.