Lawyer Who Wanted to Represent Trump Dies Unexpectedly
Attorney Who Requested to Represent Trump Dies Unexpectedly at Age 48
New York defense lawyer and Pace University professor John Meringolo passed away Nov. 16, reports said. He had requested to represent the Trump Organization and Trump Payroll Corp. two months earlier at the last moment.
According to The Western Journal, “Meringolo told the judge in another case — the retrial of alleged ‘We Build the Wall’ scammer Timothy Shea, who stands accused of defrauding donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars — that he had been retained by the Trump family to defend its companies after CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty in a deal that required him to testify in the case.”
“I have been retained to represent the Trump Payroll Corporation in its criminal trial scheduled to begin on the very same date as Mr. Shea’s retrial,” Meringolo wrote Judge Analisa Torres on Sept. 14, as he requested that she delay the Shea case for three weeks, the New York Daily News reported. She denied the request, however.
Meringolo asked Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan on Sept. 2 to delay the trial against Trump companies, but that request was turned down as well.
“That motion I received last week, or the notice of appearance, frankly, was almost bizarre, and it was dealt with appropriately,” Merchan said. “I’m repeating, we are not delaying this trial.”
Richard Meringolo confirmed his son’s death to the Daily News and said that it was unexpected.
“It’s horrifying,” he told the Daily News. “It’s a very sad day.”
No cause of death has been revealed.
John Meringolo had managed a string of victories, earning high-profile clients acquittals and mistrials — so much so, in fact, he developed a reputation for “besting federal prosecutors,” the Daily News said.
“His professional accomplishments are beyond compare, but that is not what defined John,” his obituary noted. “John will always be remembered for the way he loved his family and friends and the generosity he extended to everyone he met. He frequently went out of his way to help total strangers, knowing that a single kind gesture can go a very long way. His greatest legacy will be his two sons, Charles and Anthony, whom he loved beyond measure.”
This is an excerpt from Conservative Brief.