Our Firm takes great pride in our prompt and thorough investigative work, our attention to detail, and our concern for our client's welfare - traits that enable us to negotiate skillfully with a prosecutor or to argue persuasively before a jury.
The cases noted below represent only a few of our many successes over the years. However, for the Firm, our greatest victories are those cases where, as a result of our investigative efforts and legal analysis, we successfully have persuaded law enforcement authorities to spare our clients the pain and expense of a criminal prosecution or regulatory proceeding.
"MAFIA BIGGIE BEATS RAP"
From 1980-1985, Mr. Tulman was the sole clerk and associate for Jay Goldberg, Esq., hailed in New York magazine as "the best pure trial lawyer in New York ." During that time, one of Mr. Goldberg's clients was M.I., also known as "Matty the Horse," a reputed high ranking figure in the Genovese organized crime family. Working closely with Jay Goldberg in organizing the defense of the case, M.I. and his five co-defendants ultimately were found not guilty of all 98 counts charged in the indictment.
PROSECUTOR OF COP KILLERS
As an Assistant District Attorney from 1985-1988, Mr. Tulman was involved in the investigation and prosecution of some of the most notorious crimes of that turbulent time. In 1988, a drug gang executed a New York City Police Officer, Edward Byrne, who was guarding the home of a witness. The case was of national importance, with former President George Bush traveling to New York to receive a copy of Officer Byrne's Shield. Mr. Tulman was instrumental in the successful investigation, apprehension and prosecution of these killers.
EIGHTEEN SHOTS FIRED WITH SIX SHOT REVOLVER - JURY SAYS NOT GUILTY
From 1988-1992, Mr. Tulman was associated with the boutique litigation firm of Litman, Asche, Lupkin & Gioiella, the defense lawyers for Robert Chambers in the "Preppie Murder" case. One of the firm's clients was, D.T., a prominent Chinatown businessman, who shot a member of the Tung On street gang 18 times with a six shot revolver and then summoned the police. Mr. Litman and Mr. Tulman tried the case together in 1990, premised on the theory that D.T. acted on "automatic pilot" when the shooting began. After several days of deliberations, D.T. was acquitted on all counts.
BLOOD AND BULLET FOUND IN THE CAR - CLIENT CONFESSES - CASE DISMISSED - DISMISSAL UPHELD ON APPEAL
T.C. was charged with murder, based on incriminating statements made to the police, following the discovery of bloodstains and a bullet in his car. After intensive investigative work searching thousands of pages of telephone records, Mr. Tulman, working with Litman, Asche partner Russell M. Gioiella, Esq., proved that the lead detective had lied to the Court when he testified that T.C. had not spoken with an attorney prior to being questioned. The Court threw out T.C.'s confession and the District Attorney's Office no longer had sufficient evidence to prosecute T.C. The District Attorney's Office appealed the Judge's decision suppressing the confession, but they lost, resulting in the dismissal of the indictment.
LOTTERY VICTORY: MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT
Now in his own practice, Mr. Tulman took on the case of S.T.M. who accused her uncle of stealing her winning lottery ticket worth 8.3 million dollars. The problem - the lottery drawing had taken place months prior to S.T.M.'s discovery and her uncle already had cashed the winning ticket. Mr. Tulman won the battle to freeze future lottery installment payments, resulting in X.T.L.'s inability to dissipate the lottery proceeds. Assisted by seasoned trial attorneys Bill Hrabsky and Fred Sosinsky, Mr. Tulman ultimately obtained a unanimous verdict in S.T.M.'s favor. The jury's award was unanimously affirmed on appeal.
ROCK AND ROLL NOT A CRIME
C.L., a rock and roll musician and award winning actress, was charged with Reckless Assault, and other crimes, after she allegedly threw a microphone stand into the audience while performing. After Mr. Tulman filed motions challenging the legal basis for the charged crimes, the District Attorney's Office agreed to dismiss the criminal charges and permitted C.L. to plead guilty to disorderly conduct, a non-criminal disposition.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT WITH 27 POUNDS OF COCAINE IN THE CAR - CLIENT CONFESSES - CASE DISMISSED
R.G. was charged with criminal possession of 27 pounds of cocaine after an informant told the police that R.G. was transporting the cocaine concealed in his car. Arrested in his car after a stakeout, R.G. confessed to the presence of the controlled substances in his car and consented to the search. After a devastating cross-examination during a pre-trial hearing, the detectives admitted facts establishing that they had violated the law when arresting R.G. The judge reluctantly suppressed all of the evidence but encouraged the District Attorney's Office to appeal his decision. Persuaded by Mr. Tulman that they would never prevail on appeal, the District Attorney's Office withdrew their appeal and dismissed the indictment. R.G. was released from jail - a free man.
CAUGHT RED-HANDED AT THE AIRPORT WITH KILOS OF COCAINE - NO JAIL
D.A. was charged in the United States District Court with unlawfully transporting cocaine into the United States . Facing a 10 year minimum sentence, Mr. Tulman negotiated a disposition of the case freeing D.A. from the 10 year mandatory minimum sentence and preserved D.A's right to move for a downward departure. Mr. Tulman then successfully moved for a downward departure from then mandatory sentencing guidelines based on extraordinary family circumstances, resulting in D.A. receiving a sentence of 3 years probation. The Court, when sentencing D.A., made a point of mentioning that Mr. Tulman had provided the Court with all the information it needed to exercise the leniency that it did.
MURDER CONVICTION REVERSED
P.B. was convicted of a horrific murder involving the repeated stabbing of the victim. Unfortunately for P.B., his bloody fingerprints were found on an air conditioner that had been thrown on the body. Retained to handle the appeal of this seemingly hopeless cause, Mr. Tulman succeeded in having P.B's murder conviction reversed based on an error by the prosecutor and the court that lead to the violation of P.B's constitutional right to fairness during the jury selection process.
CREATIVE AND EFFECTIVE RESOLUTION OF WHITE COLLAR CHARGES
Art Dealer Not Prosecuted
Former Tyco International Ltd Chief Executive L. Dennis Kozlowski was indicted on charges that he conspired with art galleries and consultants to evade paying more than $1 million in sales taxes on artwork. Mr. Tulman, the attorney for one of the co-conspirator art galleries, quietly persuaded the District Attorney's Office to not prosecute his client.
Physicians Not Prosecuted
A physician was identified as a target of a grand jury investigation in connection with the physician's ownership of a medical clinic that allegedly was run by a management company engaging in Medicaid Fraud by billing for unnecessary services and services that were not rendered at all. Mr. Tulman conducted a full investigation and persuaded the District Attorney's Office that if fraudulent activity was, in fact, taking place, there was insufficient proof, given the way the medical clinic was then being run, to justify an inference that the physician had knowledge of the fraudulent practices. The physician was not charged.
Another physician represented by Mr. Tulman was indicted and summarily arrested for insurance fraud. The indictment alleged that the physician had allegedly prepared false medical reports to justify unnecessary treatments paid for by insurance companies. Mr. Tulman carefully reviewed the allegedly false medical reports and persuaded the District Attorney's Office that the indictment should be dismissed because the reports referred to in the indictment were not false.
Electrical Supply Company Not Charged
A large electrical supply company in New York City that regularly was awarded public bids for work in New York City was investigated on felony charges that it sought to evade paying sales tax on large quantities of liquor it was purchasing outside New York State for distribution to its customers in New York State . A criminal conviction would have resulted in the company being disqualified from bidding on contracts with the City. Mr. Tulman persuaded the District Attorney's Office to not prosecute his client in exchange for the client agreeing to take out full page "public service" ads in local newspapers warning others not to evade the sales tax laws.
AVOIDING HARSH IMMIGRATION CONSEQUENCES
Case #1
Y.Y.Z., a Chinese national was charged with two counts of Attempted Murder, Class B felonies, with the two victims claiming that Y.Y.Z. and a friend had stabbed them during an altercation at a massage parlor. Further supporting the victims' testimony were two eyewitnesses who claimed that they saw Y.Y.Z. fighting with one of the victims at the time of the stabbing. Rejecting a plea offer of ten years, Mr. Tulman went to trial, claiming that the victims were falsely accusing Y.Y.Z. because he refused to pay them extortion money after the stabbing to stop them from accusing him. Mr. Tulman obtained a hung jury with eleven jurors voting not guilty. The District Attorney's Office dismissed the indictment on its own motion.
Case #2
W.K.T., a Chinese national, was charged with intentional murder and held without bail, facing a minimum sentence of fifteen years to life. Rejecting plea offers requiring W.K.T.'s deportation, Mr Tulman instead went to trial and obtained a hung jury with ten jurors voting not guilty. Mr. Tulman then negotiated W.K.T.'s guilty plea to criminally negligent homicide with a sentence of five months , resulting in Wing's immediate release from prison and his ultimately becoming eligible for United States citizenship.
Case #3
M.J.W., a Chinese national, was charged with Assault in the First Degree, a Class B felony, after stabbing a friend with a scissor during an argument. The defense was justification. After cross-examining the treating physician, Mr. Tulman successfully persuaded the Court to dismiss the most serious charges in the case. After being convicted of a lesser charge, the Court sentenced M.J.W. to serve ninety days in jail, sixty of which already had been served. The prosecutor asked for six years. Had M.J.W. been sentenced to state prison, she likely would have been held for deportation.
Case #4
D.G., a non-citizen residing in the United States for many years, was convicted of a domestic violence crime, which made him deportable. Mr. Tulman was hired to appeal the conviction. Mr. Tulman won the appeal and had the conviction reversed because of an error during jury selection. D.G. then hired Mr. Tulman to do the re-trial of the case, at which time D.G. was found not guilty.
Case #5
N.S., a non-citizen, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, it being contended by the prosecutor that N.S. was a drug dealer who attempted to hire a confidential informant posing as a "hit man" to execute an individual, N.S.'s relative, who N.S. suspected of stealing narcotics proceeds. After carefully analyzing tape-recorded conversations N.S. had with the informant, Mr. Tulman rejected the prosecutor's plea offer and moved the matter to trial, claiming that the tape-recorded conversations proved only that N.S. was trying to protect his relative from harm. On the eve of trial, the prosecutor agreed to accept N.S.'s guilty plea to a misdemeanor with a sentence of five months to avoid any adverse immigration consequences.
$200,000 SETTLEMENT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
J.G. was severely beaten by New York City Police Officers after a gun that he unlawfully possessed accidentally discharged while the police were chasing him. The shot almost struck one of the police officers. The City initially argued that the police justifiably believed that J.G posed a threat to them when a shot was fired in their direction. After Mr. Tulman deposed the police officers and exposed their contradictory accounts of the incident, the City agreed to pay J.G. the sum of $200,000.00 to settle his case without a trial.