Former top prosecutor pleads guilty to stealing mobster’s money

Former U.S. Attorney H. James Pickerstein of Fairfield, center, with his lawyers Andrew Bowman, left, and William Dow during a 2014 court appearance, has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $600,000 from a convicted Danbury mobster. less Former U.S. Attorney H. James Pickerstein of Fairfield, center, with his lawyers Andrew Bowman, left, and William Dow during a 2014 court appearance, has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $600,000 from a ... more Photo: Brian A. Pounds Photo: Brian A. Pounds Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Former top prosecutor pleads guilty to stealing mobster’s money 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT — The state’s former top federal prosecutor, H. James Pickerstein, pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing more than $600,000 from a convicted Danbury mobster.

“I did engage in the conduct set forth and I accept complete responsibility for this conduct,” the 69-year-old Pickerstein told U.S. District Judge Victor Bolden in a booming voice previously reserved for putting away some of the state’s most nefarious criminals.

Under a plea agreement, Pickerstein, who pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud, could face up to 40 months in prison and a $250,000 fine, but his lawyers, Andrew Bowman and William Dow III, have the right to argue for a lesser sentence.

The date for the sentencing hearing has not been set, and Pickerstein is free until then.

Pickerstein, who served as a federal prosecutor for 16 years until he left for private practice in 1986, is accused of taking $613,216 from former Danbury trash king James Galante, who was convicted and sentenced to prison on racketeering charges. At the time, Pickerstein was Galante’s defense lawyer, and the money was supposed to go back to Galante under a settlement with federal authorities who had seized his assets as a result of their investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Nardini told the judge that between August 2011 through October 2013, Pickerstein made withdrawals from “Victim One’s” account without authorization and used the money for his personal gain, including to satisfy his own tax liabilities. Nardini said Pickerstein denied taking the money when confronted by the victim.

On Nov. 27, 2013, Pickerstein sent a letter to the victim, falsely claiming the funds were used to pay the victim’s legal fees, the prosecutor said. That was the basis for the mail fraud count.

Pickerstein stood between his lawyers during the plea hearing. Behind him about a dozen of the area’s prominent civil lawyers sat in support.

Pickerstein, his lawyers, and supporters declined comment as they left the courtroom.

The plea came just over a year after Pickerstein stood before a Superior Court judge and agreed to resign from the bar forever rather than face disciplinary action for taking the money from Galante.

“Although I deny some or all of the material facts alleged in the pending investigation, I acknowledge that there is sufficient evidence to prove by clear and convincing evidence the material facts constituting a violation of Rule 1.15 (safekeeping of client funds) of the Rules of Professional Conduct,” Pickerstein stated, according to court documents from that time.

After Pickerstein left the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1986, he joined the law firm of Trager and Trager of Fairfield, and later McElroy, Deutsch, Mulraney and Carpenter.

In September 2008, Galante was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to racketeering and wire fraud charges. As part of the plea agreement, he forfeited ownership interests in 25 trash companies, worth a total of more than $100 million.

Galante, who lived in New Fairfield, was the centerpiece of a federal probe that began in 2003 into organized crime’s infiltration and control of Connecticut’s trash industry. The investigation incorporated 11 months of wiretaps on 10 different phones and scores of search warrants, 40 of which were executed in July 2005, resulting in the seizure of over $500,000 in cash and more than 5,000 boxes of documents.

The searches were followed by a yearlong grand jury investigation that culminated in June 2006 with indictments of 29 people. Additional defendants were charged in June 2007 in a separate indictment that added allegations of kidnapping and arson.