David Storobin: Not another corrupted politician

By Ilya Galak

David Storobin is a New York lawyer who received Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Rutgers University School of Law. His Master's Thesis (M.A. - Comparative Politics) deals with the historical causes for the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. He is also currently on the Board of Directors of the Ibn Khaldun Center for International Research at the University of Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala. He's been interviewed on radio and cited in books as a political expert. ds@storobinspodek.com

David, few words about yourself. Quick introduction.

I’m a partner at the Storobin & Spodek LLP law firm and Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party in Brooklyn, New York.

What are your family’s ethnic roots?

I’m an Ashkenazi Jew.

When did your interest in the law start? Who were the biggest inspirations for your career?

"I’ve always liked the intellectual challenge that the legal profession requires. Every case has different facts and every case requires a different argument. Law doesn't happen in a legal vacuum. It involves almost every real-life situation, and as an attorney you always need to adapt and learn. I also find that I really enjoy helping people, especially since my clients are always scared and upset. In one case, a client of mine was accused of killing a child, and it was reported by the all the New York media. But within a couple of days, we found proof that he was completely innocent and could not have committed the crime and the charges were dismissed. Imagine being an innocent person accused of killing a child! It really does brighten your day being able to help someone like that."

Tell us about your career in the law, from the law school to the top Wall Street based criminal lawyer?

I went to Rutgers University School of Law in New Jersey. I worked for Bradley Simon & Partners after getting admitted to the New York bar. He’s one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the nation.

Brad Simon represented Morris Talansky, the New York businessman at the center of the corruption case against Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; David Chang – a central figure in the litigation that led to the resignation of the former United States Senator from New Jersey, Robert G. Torricelli; former New York State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi, in an investigation conducted by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, alleging Hevesi mishandled money from the New York State Pension Fund; James Marquez in the $450 million dollar collapse of the Bayou Hedge Fund Group; Frank Borghese, the former Senior Vice President of a multi-billion corporation Symbol Technologies Inc., accused of corporate fraud.

In 2004, I was one of the attorneys who worked on the Frank Borghese case, and he was one of only two defendants in the case who did not get convicted.

At the end of the case, I founded my own law firm. The very first client I worked for was Walter Johnson, who was once accused of shooting rapper Tupac Shakur and the feds wanted to question him on that case.

What are the most challenging aspects of your job?

Deciding what justice, for my client and the society, requires. It’s easy to decide if the client is either not guilty at all or guilty of a small crime (for ex., a teenager stealing bubble gum in a store) where someone may need a second chance without having a permanent criminal record. But in serious cases, you want to make sure that the prosecutors do their job properly because ignoring Constitutional rights for criminals always, in every society, eventually leads to ignoring Constitutional rights for all people, but also that you aren’t responsible for injustice on your own end either.

Representing guilty people is not about lying about their guilt. While there are rare seemingly unjust decisions, such as the O.J. Simpson case which had aspects to it other than law and evidence influencing the jurors’ decision, if you are in court on a daily basis, you will find that the jury will get the verdict right 95% of the time. If there is solid evidence against your client, taking the case to trial is just not a good idea, either for the society or your client.

Under such circumstances, the goal is to achieve the right plea bargain that results in suitable punishment for the crime he committed, neither more nor less.

What are the three accomplishments as a criminal lawyer you are most proud of?

As a business owner, I am glad that I created a successful firm that now pays salaries of a half a dozen people, and we are expanding now again.

As an attorney, I was recognized by major media on several occasions, which is always pleasant.

When did your interest in politics start?

I’ve always been interested in politics. The first time I volunteered for a candidate was in 1993 when Rudy Giuliani ran for Mayor. I’ve been involved in politics ever since.

Why did you become a Republican?

Many of the things the Democrats stand for I disagree with.

I am opposed to raising taxes to constantly increase the size and scope of the government. We definitely need basic services, from police to garbage collection, and I am glad to pay taxes for that. We also need to help the elderly and those who are temporarily out of work. I am, however, opposed to paying taxes to sponsor healthy, young adults who never have a job, yet demand that the government pays for everything from their cell phones to wireless internet access in their homes.

Welfare programs should exist to help people who temporarily found themselves in financial trouble, not to support refusal to contribute to society while getting every imaginable luxury.

Another big reason I am a Republican is that the Republican party is far more pro-Israel than the Democratic party. The more you go to the right, the more Zionist people are. The more you go to the left, the more anti-Zionist and on the far-left anti-Semitic people are.

Today, non-Jewish members of the Republican party are more likely to say that they support Israel than are Jewish Democrats. That’s pretty amazing!  On the other hand, in the far-left universities, support for Israel is an absolute taboo and people are discussing how to safeguard the basic civil rights of Jewish students in some of these schools. It’s equally amazing that civil rights for Jews is again up for a debate.

We hear the case for the Ground Zero Mosque incessantly in the news. Why do you think people should oppose the mosque?

How would people react is a German cultural center was placed right next to Auschwitz? Sure, not all Germans are bad. The German culture has produced many great people such as Wolfgang  Amadeus Mozart and Immanuel Kant. I fully support the building of German cultural centers all over the world – but not next to Auschwitz.

When I oppose a German cultural center next to Auschwitz, does that mean that I believe that all Germans are Nazis? Of course not! But why should their cultural center be next to Auschwitz? Is there no other place available that is less sensitive?

An Auschwitz-based German cultural center would be that much more offensive if its founders had a history of arguing that the Jews are bad people who harmed Germans and as a result, the German murder of Jews is justifiable and understandable, and provoked by the Jews. Someone like that would not only be prevented from building anything in Auschwitz, they would be driven out of any civilized organization.

Yet, the founders of the Ground Zero Mosque have repeatedly argued that Americans provoked terrorism by doing something bad to the Muslims, and therefore terrorism is understandable. Incidentally what Americans are accused of by Muslims – stealing natural resources, controlling global money and media for their own benefit, starting wars to make a profit – is exactly what the Nazis accused the Jews of.

It is unthinkable that people who think that 9/11 could be “understandable” would be allowed to build anything near Ground Zero.

What is your vision for our country over the next five years?

The U.S. economy is predominantly in the hands of businessmen, so it will recover despite all the interference from the government. I must say that without our President’s actions, we would probably be out of recession by now. Most recessions do not take two and a half years. Our government is constantly making things worse.

I also expect that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will end, though the relations with Moscow will likely get worse as Russia gets wealthier and more assertive internationally. The Cold War won’t be back, but the nascent rivalry that we are seeing now will likely grow and become more hostile.

And the last question. The easy one. What's your favorite place to spend time in Brooklyn?

In my free time, I enjoy places where you can relax and have a conversation with friends. Lounges are such places. I also like steakhouses. I also like to travel several times a year, though that is obviously out of Brooklyn.