Born and raised in Pittsburgh Pa. Went to grade school, high school, undergrad (Pitt 67 BS) and law (Pitt Law 70) Law school for me was during the Viet Nam War. A group of students were opposed to the war and began working with the antiwar movement. We joined a student group of the National Lawyers Guild which is bar association formed when the mainline bar associations would not admit people of color.

The lawyers in the Guild were active in the voter rights cases in the South, in representing victims of red baiting during McCarthyism which included representing progressive unions which also subject to red baiting. During law school several of the student Guild members and several progressive attorneys decided to form a law collective.

There were law collectives all over the country including New Jersey, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other areas as well. The law collectives were run under socialistic principles that is each according to need and equal distribution of work.

We had lawyers, paralegals, law students and a former prisoner who became steeped in the law as members of the collective. We were “ movement lawyers.” We were just as likely to be participating in a demonstration as we were representing folks who might get arrested for their protest activities.

The collective represented dissident union members, the Black Panther Party, members of the Weather Underground . We sued Penn State in the early 70s for refusing student certification for a group of LGBTQ students and straight students who wanted to form an educational association regarding the nascent gay rights movement. They were refused recognition .

The collective sued the college, its president and other bosses and reached a settlement wherein we received student certification. As the movement peaked and receded myself and my collective member, Paul D. Boas, began a more traditional practicing as criminal defense lawyers.

My practice ranged from major drug busts , representation of 1% bike clubs, alleged organized crime figures, to death penalty defense. (Successful )

As a defense lawyer I have appeared in courts in New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania , West Virginia, South Dakota, Maine, and Kansas.

One case which I was involved in was later tabbed the Boston College Point Shaving Case where men from Pittsburgh were convicted after a 6 week trial in Brooklyn. The charges were that my client, Paul Mazzei, conspired with Henry Hill, the mobster featured in Goodfellas and played by Ray Liotta, to fix Boston College basketball games. One of the defendants was Rick Kuhn, a Pittsburgh native, who played at Boston College.

The story was featured in a book and more recently in the most watched ESPN 30 for 30 , an award winning documentary series. The title of the production was “ Playing for the Mob.”

In 1984 my daughter , Chelsea, was born and I decided to enter a more staid profession and accepted a two-year position at the University of Maine School of Law where I taught from 1985-1987. I supervised law student attorneys in the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic and taught evidence and negotiations.

In 1987 I joined the Lewiston firm of Laskoff and Associates and worked with Mr. Laskoff for nine years when two associates and I formed the Auburn firm of Sharon, Leary and DeTroy. I had an amicable separation from Sharon, Leeary and DeTroy in 2008 and opened my own office on Main Street in Auburn.

Over a 10 year period the office expanded to several paralegals , three associate attorneys, two paralegals, and an office manager. Several attorneys who interned with the office in the summers are now practicing attorneys in Maine and Pittsburgh. In 2018 I joined the firm of Andrucki King as an associate and recently formed my own office.

Besides the work Hillary and I do regarding the marijuana business, my practice has been and will remain well over 90 percent criminal defense. As my practice in Maine expanded I have been fortunate enough to try jury trials in every county of the State and As a result have met some great associates, judges, prosecutors, court personnel and friends. My practice has been quite varied. Much of my practice involves drug arrests whether it be for cocaine, crack, heroin, pills and still marijuana. I have tried dozens of federal cases in Maine both in Bangor and Portland . These varied from white collar to blue collar to no collar crimes. I continue to have many open cases in various counties in Maine.

I also serve as an Appellate Judge for the Penobscot Tribal Court which has its own separate justice system apart from the State.

• Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers: Founding member and past president
• Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (lifetime member)
• Maine Association of Trial Lawyers
• National Lawyers Guild
• Best Lawyers in America (criminal defense)
• Former member of Maine Criminal Rules Advisory Committee

I served on the Governor’s Pardon Board, the last ten as its chair, for twenty two years retiring in 2018.

Member of Governor’s Advisory Board on Marijuana