Richard F. Albert

August 11, 2021 | New York Law Journal

White-Collar Crime columnists Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's recent 'Van Buren' decision, which fits into a pattern of the court's modern criminal law jurisprudence that, while purporting to use only traditional tools of statutory interpretation and to eschew policy judgments, nevertheless appears motivated by concerns about the ever-expanding reach and severity of federal criminal law.

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

12 minute read

June 09, 2021 | New York Law Journal

When law enforcement seeks to compel a subject to provide a passcode to allow them to rummage through a cellphone, courts have not spoken with a unified voice. On May 12th, the Supreme Court declined to wade in, seemingly guaranteeing that continued uncertainty on this critical issue will continue to bedevil criminal practitioners. Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert discuss the issue in this edition of their White-Collar Crime column.

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

11 minute read

April 07, 2021 | New York Law Journal

Among the many ways the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines have distorted the federal criminal justice system is through heavy reliance on factual determinations typically made by judges at sentencing rather than by juries at trial. Two senators recently announced the introduction of the "Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2021," which would bar courts from increasing a defendant's sentence based on acquitted conduct. Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert provide background and discuss the legislation in this edition of their White-Collar Crime column.

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

10 minute read

February 10, 2021 | New York Law Journal

In this edition of their White-Collar Crime column, Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert explain that regardless of his enforcement priorities, Gary Gensler's SEC will benefit from the expansion of the SEC's powers that Congress included in the National Defense Authorization Act passed on the first day of the new year. In enacting this law, Congress effectively has overridden the SEC's recent stinging Supreme Court defeats.

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

9 minute read

December 09, 2020 | New York Law Journal

Days before Thanksgiving, the United States Solicitor General's office responded to defendants' petitions for certiorari in 'Blaszczak'. The government agreed that the Supreme Court should vacate the Second Circuit's decision, and suggested a remand for further consideration in light of an intervening decision in 'Kelly v. United States'. The significant issues the certiorari petitions present in two critical areas of white-collar criminal doctrine are worthy of practitioners' attention and are addressed by White-Collar Crime columnists Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert.

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

13 minute read

October 07, 2020 | New York Law Journal

In recent years, justices of the Supreme Court have tended to rule differently in white-collar crime cases than how their traditional labels of liberal or conservative would suggest in "blue-collar" crime cases, write White-Collar Crime columnists Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert.

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

9 minute read

September 14, 2020 | Law.com

United States v. Napout The U.S. government's lead role in the prosecution of corruption within the Zurich-based FIFA may be a paradigmatic example of U.S. law enforcement acting as the world's policeman. If corruption is based on foreign executives violating their duties of loyalty to foreign private entities, how does that translate into a violation of U.S. criminal law? Does it matter that the conduct in which the foreign executive engaged — commercial bribery — may not be illegal under the law of the executive's home country?

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

12 minute read

August 12, 2020 | New York Law Journal

In their White-Collar Crime column, Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert discuss the Second Circuit's decision in 'Napout,' which illustrates that if investigators find use of the U.S. banking system in carrying out a scheme, few practical limits will be placed on U.S. prosecutors' ability to reach alleged misconduct anywhere in the world.

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

12 minute read

June 10, 2020 | New York Law Journal

White-Collar Crime columnists Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert discuss the Supreme Court's recent reversal of the "Bridgegate"-related convictions and its implications, writing that the extent to which the principles articulated in that decision will have an impact on future federal fraud prosecutions is currently being tested in another high-profile case currently on appeal before the Second Circuit where the "right to control" theory is at issue.

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

12 minute read

April 08, 2020 | New York Law Journal

White-Collar Crime columnists Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert discuss an appeal in the well-publicized fraud prosecution of former sports radio personality Craig Carton, which presents the question whether, though purporting to accept the terms of a plea agreement, a prosecutor's advocacy may cross the line into a breach of that agreement.

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert

13 minute read