For most of America, Rudy Giuliani didn’t exist until 9/11.  In a flash, he became “America’s Mayor,” beloved and admired by people across America.  But for those of us who lived in New York City, and particularly for criminal defense lawyers, our memories of Rudy go back a little bit further.

Rudy came to New York from Washington to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  Ah, those heady days when there was a TV camera at every Wall Street bust.  Back then, Rudy was the self-promoting, mean-spirited and overly-aggressive (or as we like to call this, a New Yawker) prosecutor, capable of causing outrage at both the highest and lowest levels of society.  Prominent (and innocent) Wall Street brokers say their lives wrongly destroyed by Rudy’s hubris, while the poorest of society were stomped under Rudy’s heel.

One of my personal favorite memories is when Rudy and Al D’Amato (that other paragon of virtue) decided to go uptown to buy crack.  Rudy, who loves to dress up, donned a Hell’s Angel vest over his suit pants and government issue white shirt.