T. Markus Funk is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
attorney, law professor, and author known for the prosecution of several high-profile mob figures during his career at the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
,
his role in co-leading the internal investigation into former Ohio State University team physician Dr. Richard Strauss,
and trial victory on behalf of the Costa Rican citrus industry.
He is currently a partner in the law firm of
Perkins Coie
Perkins Coie is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1912, it is recognized as an Am Law 50 firm. It is the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and has 20 offices across the Un ...
,
where he served as the Firmwide Chair of the firm's global White Collar & Investigations Practice.
Education and early career
Funk was raised in Germany before attending school in Illinois.
He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois in 1992
and in 2023 received the University's alumni award. He went to Northwestern School of Law where he earned his J.D., graduating in 1995. He later received a Ph.D. (“DPhil”) in law from the University of Oxford.
Prior to his career at the Department of Justice, Funk taught law at the University of Oxford.
He also served as a law clerk for
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
* Eastern District of Arkansas
* Western Distr ...
Judge Morris S. Arnold as well as
U.S District Court Judge Catherine D. Perry.
U.S. Department of State
Between 2004 and 2006, Funk worked for the U.S. Department of State as the Section Chief in Kosovo following the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
.
He represented the U.S. at diplomatic negotiations and headed the restructuring of Kosovo's justice system after the war.
He was given the
Superior Honor Award
The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or individ ...
by the Department in recognition of his service in Kosovo and also authored the Kosovo Trial Skills Handbook
[https://www.perkinscoie.com/images/content/6/4/v2/64007/2006-Kosovo-Trial-Skills-Handbook.PDF.pdf ] which was published by the United States Department of Justice in 2006 and at the time was the Kosovo Supreme Court's most cited-to authority.
U.S. Department of Justice
Funk worked for the United States Department of Justice under
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald for 10 years.
During his time with the DOJ, he prosecuted numerous high-profile cases, including those of mobsters,
white collar criminals, Roman Catholic priests and deacons, and company CEOs.
![T Markus Funk Sketch with Frank Calabrese](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/T_Markus_Funk_Sketch_with_Frank_Calabrese.jpg)
As an
Assistant United States Attorney
An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
, Funk also prosecuted
Joey "The Clown" Lombardo,
Frank Calabrese, Sr. and other high-ranking mobsters as part of
Operation Family Secrets
Operation Family Secrets was an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into mob-related crimes in Chicago. The FBI called it one of the most successful investigations of organized crime that it had ever conducted.[Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...]
between the 1960s and 2000s. The investigation was considered one of the most extensive racketeering cases of its kind and was labeled as one of the most important criminal investigations in American history by National Public Radio (the 1995 movie “Casino” was based on the charged criminal activities
). During closing arguments of the trial, Calabrese told Funk, "You're a fucking dead man." Calabrese and all of his thirteen co-defendants were convicted.
Funk also prosecuted former U.S. Marshal John T Ambrose for leaking information to mob figures about the location of a protected witness. It was the first case of its type involving a U.S Marshal violating the security of the
Witness Protection Program
Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...
.
Ambrose was assigned to guard
Nicholas Calabrese
Nicholas W. Calabrese (born November 30, 1942) is an American former mob hitman, best known for being the second made man ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit. His testimony and cooperation with federal prosecutors helped result in the 2007 ...
, the first "
made
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*'' M.A.D.E. ...
" member to ever testify against the Chicago outfit. Ambrose was charged and later convicted with leaking information about Calabrese to other mob figures.
Funk also prosecuted mobsters
Joseph Scalise
Joseph Jerome "Jerry" Scalise (born December 25, 1937) is a Chicago mobster and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit criminal organization. He is most known for stealing the Marlborough diamond in London in 1980, and also for serving as a ...
, Arthur Rachel and Robert Pullia for their involvement in a conspiracy to rob cash from the First National Bank of La Grange in 2010. The three men, already famous for their 1980 involvement in the theft of the 45-carat
Marlborough diamond from Graff's jewelry store, had planned to rob an armored vehicle at the bank and had stolen vehicles and stashed guns to use in the robbery. All three were convicted.
At the time of his departure from the U.S. Department of Justice, the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' described Markus as a "street-smart prosecutor with an Oxford pedigree."
Private practice
Funk left the Department of Justice in 2010 to become a partner at the law firm of
Perkins Coie
Perkins Coie is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1912, it is recognized as an Am Law 50 firm. It is the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and has 20 offices across the Un ...
.
He specializes in internal investigations, complex commercial litigation, and white collar criminal defense, and in 2011 co-founded the firm's corporate social responsibility and supply chain compliance practice. He served as the Firmwide Chair of the Firm's White Collar & Investigations Practice from 2015-2021. He also co-led the internal investigation into former Ohio State University team physician Dr. Richard Strauss,
and along with his team achieved trial victory on behalf of the Costa Rican citrus industry.
Teaching and writing career
In addition to teaching at the University of Oxford, Funk has taught law at the University of Chicago Law School, Northwestern School of Law, Loyola,
University of Denver School of Law, and the University of Arkansas Little Rock. He currently co-teaches a class on bribery and forced labor in company supply chains at the University of Colorado School of Law.
Throughout his career, Funk has authored over 100 scholarly articles, updates, and book chapters and has written nine books.
Bibliography
* 2021, Rethinking Self-Defence: The 'Ancient Right's' Rationale Disentangled
TM(1, Bloomsbury/Hart Publishing
* 2019, From Baksheesh to Bribery: Understanding the Global Right Against Corruption and Graft, Oxford University Press
* 2016, The ABA Compliance Officer Deskbook, The American Bar Association
* 2014, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties and Letters Rogatory: A Guide for Judges, Federal Judicial Center
* 2012, Child Exploitation and Trafficking: Examining the Global Challenges and U.S. Responses, Rowman & Littlefield, (Second Updated and Expanded Edition, 2016)
* 2012, The Haiti Trial Skills Manual, American Bar Association
* 2010, The Darfur Trial Skills Manual, American Bar Association
* 2010, Victims' Rights and Advocacy at the International Criminal Court, Oxford University Press, (Second Updated and Expanded Edition, 2015)
* 2006, The Kosovo Trial Skills Handbook, United States Department of Justice
Awards and recognition
Funk has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognition throughout his career. A Fellow of the American Law Institute, he was given the Attorney General's Award ''(
John Marshall Award
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
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)'' for his work on Operation Family Secret
and the
2018 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing. He is the only person to have received both the Department of Justice's Attorney General's Award and the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
's Superior Honor Award. In 2013, he was named ''Lawyer of the Year'' by
Law Week Colorado
''Law Week Colorado'' is Colorado's weekly online news source for lawyers and an information source on legal issues in the state and around the nation. It is available to the public and circulates widely to lawyers in private practice and public s ...
, and in 2012 he was named Colorado's top Corporate/Compliance Lawyer.
In 2014, the ABA awarded Funk the Frank Carrington Crime Victim Award (given to the person or organization who has done the most for victims of crime), and in 2023 he received the University of Illinois Distinguished Alumnus award and was inducted into the
Bloomington High School Hall of Fame.
See also
*
Operation Family Secrets
Operation Family Secrets was an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into mob-related crimes in Chicago. The FBI called it one of the most successful investigations of organized crime that it had ever conducted.[Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...]
References
External links
Perkins Coie profile of T. Markus FunkT. Markus Funk on Google ScholarT. Markus Funk on ORCIDT. Markus Funk on Social Science Research Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Funk, T. Marcus
Living people
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni
Alumni of the University of Oxford
American lawyers
Academics of the University of Oxford
American male writers
University of Illinois alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
People associated with Perkins Coie
German emigrants to the United States