Two months after requesting to join former President Donald Trump’s New York legal team, a veteran Manhattan lawyer died at 48.
John Charles Meringolo died suddenly November 16, according to his obituary.
Meringolo stated he was retained by the Trump family to represent its companies after CFO Allen Weisselberg was required to testify after pleading guilty. The successful lawyer, described as a thorn in the side of federal prosecutors, asked Judge Analisa Torres for a three-week extension September 14, according to a Western Journal report
The trial he sought a delay for was the prosecution of Timothy Shea, accused of defrauding hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors to the “We Build the Wall” project.
“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 explained to Torres, who denied his request.
The Trump family lawyer had earlier asked Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to delay the trial before his court in regard to Trump companies, which was also refused.
Meringolo frustrated prosecutors by winning acquittals or forcing them to offer deals that kept his clients out of jail, but he was on a losing streak with judges.
“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.”
A New York Daily News report noted the lawyer’s passing.
“Meringolo became a thorn in the side of federal prosecutors after winning streaks defending notorious clients in several prominent mafia, RICO, and large-scale narcotics cases,” commented the publication in a Twitter post.
“His professional accomplishments are beyond compare, but that is not what defined John,” his obituary stated. “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,” the obituary continued. “His greatest legacy will be his two sons, Charles and Anthony, whom he loved beyond measure.”
Meringolo is survived by his wife, Kristen; mother, Maria Colonna; father, Richard Meringolo; sister, Maria; two sons, Charles and Anthony; and niece, Emma.
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