‘Thief-in-chief’: Jury left to decide Tom Girardi’s fate in fraud trial

Former attorney Tom Girardi appears at the U.S. “What you saw in this case is, for years, the defendant was running a Ponzi scheme.” For nearly two hours Monday, Deputy Public Defender Charles Snyder pushed back on the government’s case, referring to his 85-year-old client as an “elderly man with cognitive decline” and laying the blame for a massive case of fraud at the feet of Chris Kamon, the former chief financial officer for the now-closed law firm, Girardi Keese. Snyder argued that Girardi was running the firm in name only and called it a “Weekend at Bernie’s” situation where partners at the firm were “propping him up to keep the party going.” During the trial, Girardi’s federal public defenders called more than 10 witnesses, including Dr. Helena Chui, who testified that Girardi has dementia; his former housekeeper of about 20 years; and his secretaries at the law firm. By the time the alleged fraud scheme began, Snyder said, Girardi had won every award there was to win and “did not have to cheat to win.” He told the jury he wasn’t saying that Girardi never told lies, but that “a lie alone does not equal fraud.” “I think you all understand what’s at play here for an 85-year-old man,” Snyder told the jury in his closing argument. “Your decision in this case will forever alter the trajectory of Mr. Girardi’s life.” In his rebuttal, Paetty said Girardi “chose himself again and again,” and used client money to underwrite an exorbitant lifestyle.