Paul John Wiegartner Jr

I have dedicated my professional career to investigating and prosecuting a broad range of criminal activity including violent crime, terrorism, organized crime, complex white-collar crime and fraud. 

I have had a very successful twenty four year career as an FBI Special Agent. During that time I conducted thousands of witness interviews; collected and presented evidence in court; I have testified and been cross examined; put together hundreds of cases and worked hand in hand, essentially sitting second chair as the United States Attorney presented those cases in court.  I was a member of the Safe Streets Violent Crimes Task Force, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and a case agent on the White Collar Crime squad.  I was named the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation’s Investigator of the year (2009) following my successful investigation of an Ecuadorian truck hijacking ring and I was awarded the EDNY US Attorney Award for Excellence in National Security Investigations (2000) for my role in the successful prosecution of an organized crime figure with ties to terrorism.  

During my four year stint as Associate counsel for the FBI, I oversaw complex investigations, including organized crime investigations and terrorism.  I reviewed and helped draft warrants for electronic surveillance and search warrants. I was a member of the undercover review committee and regularly reviewed informant files for compliance with DOJ and FBI guidelines. 

Additionally, I gained first hand courtroom experience during a three-year detail to the United States Attorney’s Office as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. During that time I conducted and defended depositions, conducted all aspects of discovery, drafted and argued motions, and successfully first chaired a bench trial in Federal District Court involving agents accused of excessive force during the arrest of an organized crime associate. I also drafted and successfully argued an Appellate Brief before a three Judge panel of the Second Circuit Federal Court of Appeals.

After leaving government service following a successful twenty-four year career, I gained updated research skills working as a Securities Fraud Investigator for a plaintiff’s law firm.  I regularly used such programs as WestLaw, BloombergLaw, and Lexis/Nexis.  I conducted hundreds of witness interviews seeking to develop cooperating witnesses to pursue civil lawsuits for fraud. Some the major cases I have contributed to include the High Frequency Trading stock market manipulation litigation and the Petrobras, Brazilian state owned oil company bribery and corruption scandal. 

       I have now dedicated the rest of my career to criminal defense defending the rights of those accused of criminal activity in both federal and state court in both New York and New Jersey.