Bertram Lawrence "Bert" Podell (December 27, 1925 – August 17, 2005) was an American politician who served in the New York State Assembly for six terms and part of a seventh, and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York for part of one term and three full terms. He was a Democrat.
In 1973, Podell was charged with bribery. He pled guilty to reduced charges of conspiracy and conflict of interest.
In 1973, Podell was charged with bribery for allegedly accepting money to arrange approval of a route to The Bahamas for a small Florida-based airline.[8] While under indictment, he was defeated in the 1974 Democratic primary by Stephen J. Solarz, who went on to win the general election.[9]
Podell's case was one of the first that brought public attention to Rudolph Giuliani, then a prosecutor in the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.[10] Podell's trial took a dramatic turn when Giuliani aggressively cross-examined him, causing him to lose his composure and ask for a recess, after which he agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges of conspiracy and conflict of interest. Podell and co-defendant Martin Miller later attempted to withdraw their guilty pleas, but their motion was denied; Podell was sentenced to a $5,000 fine and 24 weeks in prison, of which he served 18. Podell and Miller unsuccessfully appealed their convictions.[11][12][13]
Podell was disbarred by the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division because of his conviction, but then re-instated in 1980 after a New York State law was passed in 1979 made it possible for lawyers to retain their licenses if they were convicted under federal law for crimes which were not considered felonies under state law. Afterwards, Podell continued to practice law until shortly before his death.[2]
Death
Podell died in New York City on August 17, 2005. He was survived by his wife Bunny; two sons, a daughter, two brothers and five grandchildren.[14]
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