Richard Egbert, criminal defense 'giant,' dies at 61

Represented top politicians and a Winter Hill gang boss

Richard Egbert was recalled as "a fierce adversary."

When New England's power bosses got stuck in the crosshairs of state or federal prosecutors, they called attorney Richard Egbert.

The tenacious Bostonian, who represented former Massachusetts House speaker Thomas M. Finneran and Winter Hill gang boss Howie Winter and won acquittals on 11 out of 12 federal corruption charges against the former mayor of Providence, Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, died of a heart attack Thursday while vacationing with his family in upstate New York. He was 61.

Mr. Egbert collapsed after an afternoon of waterskiing on Friends Lake near Lake George, his family said.

"He was always in pursuit of the truth," Cianci said in a phone interview yesterday. "He was small in size, but he was big in spirit and in his aggressive way of breaking witnesses down."

Shocked friends and colleagues remembered Mr. Egbert yesterday as a top defense attorney whose tough courtroom demeanor contrasted with a soft heart and deep compassion for family and colleagues.

"He befriended a lot of people," said Boston defense attorney Joseph Balliro. "He was a loyal friend, an intense person. He always did the right thing."

Mr. Egbert could have parlayed his skills and reputation into bigger paychecks by working for corporations, colleagues said, but he viewed his role in life as providing a citizen's last defense against potential government tyranny.

"He understood the advocacy system to be more than representing an individual," said Peter A. DiBiase, a Rhode Island defense attorney who worked with Egbert on several cases. "He understood that without it, you wouldn't have the kind of society we have."

Mr. Egbert often wreaked havoc on prosecutors' cases. Federal prosecutors tried to have him disqualified from the Cianci case. He pummeled state prosecutors in a bribery case against former Rhode Island governor Edward D. DiPrete. And he won an acquittal last fall for Jeffrey Harrington, a former Bourne firefighter accused of murder in Barnstable, when he convinced the jury that the shooting was self-defense.

"His closing was brilliant. I had chills," said his law associate Patricia DeJuneas, who worked with him for seven years. "We're all devastated."

Assistant US Attorney Brian Kelly called him "well respected and a fierce adversary."

"It was a challenge to do a case when Richie was involved," he said. "He attacked everything. He attacked the government. He attacked the evidence. He was always on offense. But at the end of the day he was a good guy."

The son of Manuel and Anita Egbert, Mr. Egbert was born in Boston and grew up in Newton. A 1969 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, he received his law degree in 1972 from Northeastern University.

He married three times. His wife Shannon McAuliffe, also an attorney, said her husband was "the most charismatic, warm-hearted, loyal, courageous man."

Mr. Egbert believed in the right of the accused to the most vigorous defense possible, she said. "He believed it to his toes and that made him really special and really special to his clients."

He shied away from self-promotion and turned down many requests over the years to offer legal analysis on television and launch a national profile. "I try to keep my self-aggrandizement from ruining clients," he told the Globe in 2002.

Mr. Egbert never considered himself a great legal intellect and attributed his courtroom achievements to hard work, preparation, "and understanding that what we are talking about are the ways of the world and the ways of people."

Kevin Reddington, an attorney and Mr. Egbert's close friend, said his death is hard to comprehend. Mr. Egbert was a fitness devotee who worked out several times each week and insisted on walking almost everywhere in the city.

"It was difficult to keep up with him. In the middle of a snowstorm, he wanted to go out and walk through Boston Common," said Mr. Reddington, who had planned to join Mr. Egbert in the Adirondacks this weekend.

Mr. Egbert was a bulldog in the courtroom, he said, but moved quickly through defeat. He was particularly disappointed when Cianci was found guilty on a single count of racketeering conspiracy in 2002.

"He turned that case inside out and beat them like a drum. It was just so disappointing not to have across-the-board acquittals. But he just picked up and moved on and tried another the following week," he said.

Reddington recalled Mr. Egbert's love of golf, Red Sox games, and above all, his children. He said he once accompanied his friend to the Worcester Palladium to hear Mr. Egbert's son's band play heavy metal. "He was so proud. We were the two old guys standing there with all these kids. He was just an incredible guy, and I'm going to miss him."

Jim DiNatale of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said Mr. Egbert worked tirelessly to help other defense lawyers. He said he also will never forget Mr. Egbert's love of life. At a party at his home during the Boston Marathon, he caught a glimpse of Mr. Egbert with his grandson.

"He's a giant of the defense bar, one of the toughest guys you'll ever meet, and here he was just playing with his little grandson with a balloon. He was the proudest grandpa you can imagine," he said.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Egbert leaves a brother, Stephen of North Hampton, N.H.; two daughters, Shea McGonigal of Portland, Maine, and Danielle Petruzzi of Arlington; a son, Manuel of Pembroke; and three grandchildren.

A funeral will be held Monday at noon in Temple Beth Am in Randolph. Burial will be in Sharon Memorial Park.