Representative Cases

Mr. George argued appeals before every state and federal court in Massachusetts and in courts across the country. Several reshaped Massachusetts law.

• John J. Salemme. After a jury convicted Mr. Salemme of first-degree murder, the Supreme Judicial Court took the extraordinary step of reversing and ordering a judgment of acquittal for insufficient evidence. The decision set a new standard for weak cases that trial judges had routinely sent to juries, and it led to the release of many convicted defendants. The following year, Mr. George won the same type of first-degree murder appellate acquittal for Antonio Mazza.
• Revere Police Officer Robert Silva. Mr. George's argument in this appeal changed the law of perjury in Massachusetts.
• Professor William Douglas. Mr. George presented Professor Douglas's motion for post-trial relief following his manslaughter plea in the 1983 death of Robin Benedict in Norfolk County.
  

Acquittals and verdicts for the defense

Many of Mr. George's trials drew intense public attention, and they earned him a reputation for courtroom excellence.

• David Taber. A New Bedford jury found Mr. Taber not guilty by reason of insanity of first-degree murder after Mr. George presented expert forensic testimony — a rare acquittal on a psychiatric defense in a high-profile murder case.
• Anna Tang. In 2010, this Wellesley College honor student was found not guilty of attempted murder by reason of mental disease or defect after a lengthy Middlesex Superior Court trial. Supported by three psychiatric and psychological experts, the defense ensured she spent no time in custody and was released without commitment; she went on to finish her degree and enter the workforce.
• Terrence Taylor (the Tiffany Moore case). Mr. George won Mr. Taylor's acquittal in the murder prosecution that prompted a crackdown on Boston gang violence.
• Ricardo Parks. A Cambridge jury acquitted Mr. Parks of a double homicide, although all five of his co-defendants in the same trial were convicted.
• Bernard Piscopo. A Suffolk County jury acquitted Mr. Piscopo of murder and related charges in a widely publicized South Boston case.
• Corey Hood. Acquitted of murder by a Bristol County jury.
• Robert Richardson. A Suffolk County jury acquitted this NHL scout and U.S. hockey coach of rape.
  

• Edward O'Brien. Mr. George defended this 15-year-old Somerville boy, charged with first-degree murder in Middlesex County, in juvenile and adult proceedings — one of the most heavily covered criminal cases in Massachusetts history. By persuading the district court to retain juvenile jurisdiction, he prompted a change in the Commonwealth's juvenile transfer laws for homicide. The case also produced new law on bail and transfer and the recusal of two judges who had ruled for the defense.
• Shon McHugh. Mr. George persuaded the court to keep Mr. McHugh, the lead defendant in the fatal stabbing of an MIT Norwegian exchange student in Cambridge, in juvenile court — prompting a second overhaul of the Commonwealth's transfer laws.

• William Bennett (the Carol Stuart case). Mr. George led the defense of Mr. Bennett, who was falsely accused in the 1989 murder of Carol Stuart, one of the most heavily covered crimes in the country at the time. The case collapsed when it emerged that the victim's husband, Charles Stuart, had fabricated it; Stuart took his own life, and the fallout led to an overhaul of the Boston Police Department and a new Police Commissioner.
• Christopher McCowen (the Truro homicide). Mr. George represented Mr. McCowen in the nationally covered murder case involving fashion writer Christa Worthington, conducted historic post-trial juror misconduct hearings, and filed a series of motions challenging the verdict.
• Ray and Shirley Souza. The expert testimony Mr. George presented in this child abuse trial drew national attention, including a Newsweek cover story, to false and repressed memory. The issues have been linked to the reversals in the Kelly Michaels case in New Jersey and the Amirault cases in Massachusetts.
• David Azar. In a Middlesex County murder trial centered on child abuse, Mr. George won a reduced charge for the Sudbury businessman by presenting the field's leading medical experts and challenging the prosecution's specialists.
• Charles Doucette. A historic case whose course included a first-degree murder conviction, an acquittal, reinstatement of the conviction, and a new trial.
• Ted Jeffrey Otsuki. A Suffolk County first-degree murder prosecution of one of America's most wanted fugitives, accused of killing a Boston police officer and wounding others.
• Christopher Hightower. A Rhode Island triple-murder case involving a complex dissociative personality defense, televised gavel to gavel for eight weeks in 1994.
• Gene Travis. A multi-jurisdiction murder case against an accused serial killer, with extensive forensic testimony and lengthy trials in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
• Siny Van Tram. The 1991 Chinatown Massacre, in which five men were killed in Boston's Chinatown.
• Richard Sarro. The so-called 99 Restaurant murder case in Charlestown.
• Anthony DiGrazia. During the New Bedford serial killings investigation, Mr. George won Mr. DiGrazia's release by directing attention to other suspects. Mr. DiGrazia later took his own life after the special prosecutor accused him again.
• Rebecca and David Corneau (the Attleboro cult cases). Mr. George secured their freedom after negotiating with authorities and personally leading investigators to the alleged victims' burial sites in Maine.
• Craig Titus. Represented the bodybuilder and Mr. Universe competitor in Massachusetts extradition proceedings arising from the death of his personal assistant in Las Vegas.
• Margaret Rudin. Represented Mrs. Rudin in connection with murder charges arising from the killing of her millionaire husband in Las Vegas.
• State Police Sergeant Timothy White. Defended Sergeant White in two jury trials on drug trafficking charges brought while he served in the State Police Drug Control Unit.

White-collar and fraud prosecutions

• Louis R. Pagliuca. Mr. George won rare federal jury acquittals on bank fraud charges for the Revere developer. The outcome led to the dissolution of the U.S. Attorney's Office's New England Bank Fraud Task Force.
• Gladys Ihenacho. A federal jury acquitted this registered nurse and mother of five on 25 of 32 counts alleging internet pharmacy fraud, international money laundering, and drug distribution. She received a probationary sentence, and the case brought wholesale changes to the Health Care Fraud Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts.
• Humberto Correia. After Mr. George won him a new trial, a federal jury acquitted Mr. Correia of arson and insurance fraud.
• George and Patricia Brewster. The couple served no prison time in their multimillion-dollar federal tax evasion cases.
• United States Funding, Dime Savings Bank, ComFed Savings, and Barnstable Community Credit Union investigations. Mr. George won Guidelines reductions and lesser sentences for separate defendants in each of these federal matters.
• James Bunchan. Defended the Cambodian businessman in a multimillion-dollar fraud case in federal court in Boston.

• Manuel Cachopa. A Norfolk County jury acquitted the former Stoughton Police Chief of public corruption and extortion; he received probation on a lesser charge.
• Joseph Catanese. After several years of negotiations by Mr. George, this State Police detective received a reduced sentence in a multi-defendant corruption case.

• Francis Salemme. In this federal obstruction of justice case, Mr. George secured a sentence that guaranteed his client's release in half the time the government originally sought.
• Vincent Gioacchini. After extended negotiations with the U.S. Attorney's Office, the alleged organized crime soldier's sentences in two major federal racketeering cases and a state indictment totaled only six years.
• Darin Bufalino. Mr. George secured dismissals or reduced sentences for the alleged organized crime associate in separate cases charging first-degree murder, armed robbery, and attempted murder.
• James Martorano. Defended the alleged organized crime figure in federal racketeering cases.
• The Mark Rossetti disclosures. Mr. George filed the complex pretrial motions that exposed the troubling relationship between alleged organized crime figure Mark Rossetti and federal law enforcement. The revelations prompted calls for legislative reform and congressional hearings on the handling of criminal informants nationwide.

• Revere Police (the CVS robbery case). Nearly an entire Revere patrol shift was indicted for larceny and burglary. Mr. George won dismissal of the indictments against Officer Daniel Sweeney and his reinstatement to the force.
• Dedham Police Officer Fred Caruso. Acquitted of attempted murder in two separate cases before two different judges.
• Dedham Police Officers John Landers and Peter Smart. Both were acquitted in separate jury trials on Attorney General charges of police brutality and union fund fraud.
• Wellesley Police Officers Ray MacDonald and Terrence Cunningham. Tried with Attorney James St. Clair, this police brutality case ended in not guilty verdicts.

• The Lambert family. In June 2009, Mr. George won a $4.3 million jury verdict against P.A. Landers Corporation for negligent road maintenance performed for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• The Donahue family. Following the Bulger–Flemmi revelations of corruption in the FBI's Boston office, Mr. George brought a wrongful death claim against the federal government and secured a $6.35 million judgment. The First Circuit later set the award aside on statute-of-limitations grounds, and legislation was introduced in Congress to compensate the family.

These cases reflect Mr. George's zealous advocacy, thorough factual investigation, creative legal argument, and meticulous preparation. His representation helped clients avoid charges, win acquittals, and obtain reduced sentences. He was committed to both his clients' immediate and long-term needs, and to providing quality representation to people of every financial background.