Albert Joseph "Al" Krieger (November 4, 1923 – May 14, 2020) was an American criminal defense lawyer, most prominently for figures in

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

and drug trafficking, as well as for a number of Oglala Lakota activists during criminal proceedings following the

Wounded Knee Occupation The Wounded Knee Occupation, also known as Second Wounded Knee, began on February 27, 1973, when approximately 200 Oglala Lakota (sometimes referred to as Oglala Sioux) and followers of the American Indian Movement (AIM) seized and occupie ...

Biography

Krieger was born on November 4, 1923, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, to parents Lui and Ida (Arnow) Krieger. His father was a restaurateur. After graduating from Long Beach High School in

Lido Beach, New York Lido Beach is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 2,897 at the 2010 census. Lido Beach is located in the Town of Hempstead. Geography Lido Beach is located at (40.587988, -7 ...

, Krieger won a football scholarship to

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and graduated in 1945. He briefly served in the Army before continuing on to

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...

, receiving an LL.B in 1949. Krieger first rose to prominence in the late 1960s through his representation of crime boss

Joseph Bonanno Joseph Charles Bonanno (born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno; ; January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002), sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family, which he ran from 1931 to 1968. Bonanno was born i ...

; together with his partner Susan Van Dusen, he helped to keep Bonanno free from imprisonment for more than a decade until he was convicted in an

obstruction of justice Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...

case. He is perhaps best known, however, for his role as defense counsel to mafioso John Gotti's at his 1992 trial in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

; despite Krieger's aggressive questioning of organized crime associate

Sammy Gravano Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano (born March 12, 1945) is an American former mobster who became underboss of the Gambino crime family. Gravano played a major role in prosecuting John Gotti, the crime family's boss, by agreeing to testify as a ...

, Gotti was ultimately convicted on the basis of overwhelming

wiretap Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...

evidence. Krieger often said that in his 60 years of practicing law he was proudest of having worked without a fee on behalf of the

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police br ...

members who occupied

Wounded Knee, South Dakota Wounded Knee ( lkt, Čaŋkpé Opí) is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 364 at the 2020 census. The town is named for the Wounded Knee Cr ...

, in 1973. He helped win acquittals or get charges dismissed against nearly all of the 150 defendants in that episode. Krieger also represented numerous prominent drug smugglers, including Roger Reaves as well as Miami

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

trafficker Willy Falcon during his 1996 trial. He provided posthumous commentary regarding the latter trial for the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

documentary, '' Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami'' (2021). Outside of practice, he was a founder of the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Georgia, which trains young criminal defense lawyers in advocacy skills, and a nationally recognized expert on

cross-examination In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India and Pakistan known as examination-in-chief) and ...

.Jim DeFede "The Best Defense Money Can Buy," ''Miami New Times'' Thursday, December 14, 1995 http://www.miaminewtimes.com/1995-12-14/news/the-best-defense-money-can-buy/ Law school students, and practicing lawyers, regularly studied Mr. Krieger’s techniques for wearing down witnesses. He was the recipient of the

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is an American criminal defense organization. Members include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors, judges, and d ...

's 1995 Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award, the Association's highest honor, as well as their Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987."NACDL Awards" http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/freeform/awards?OpenDocument He served as President of the organization from 1979-1980.

Death

Krieger died in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

on May 14, 2020, at age 96. He was survived by his wife Irene Stoller Krieger as well as by five children. One daughter, Luise Krieger-Martin, currently serves as a judge on the Miami-Dade County Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krieger, Albert Criminal defense lawyers 2020 deaths New York University School of Law alumni Lawyers from Miami 1923 births