Gerald Shargel, a legendary defense attorney whose clientele included mobsters, celebrities and political figures who had fallen from grace, died on Saturday due to complications from Alzheimer's disease, his wife Terry confirmed to the Law Journal. He was 77.

Regarded as a skilled operator in the courtroom, Shargel represented both blue- and white-collar criminal defendants during his long legal career, as well as political operatives from both sides of the aisle.