Arseneault, Whipple, Farmer, Fassett & Azzarello, LLP -- Attorneys at Law

John Azzarello is a seasoned white-collar crime and complex litigation lawyer. He has conducted numerous internal investigations to evaluate exposure to criminal and civil liabilities on behalf of domestic and international corporations and he has managed all aspects of complex commercial litigation in both state and federal courts. Mr. Azzarello has coordinated the criminal defense of officers and directors of public and private corporations in securities, healthcare, insurance and anti-trust investigations and prosecutions, including the representation of a former Chief Financial Officer of a Fortune 100 company. Mr. Azzarello has also counseled leading U.S and international internet betting and gaming companies and payment processors concerning compliance with United States civil and criminal online gaming laws and regulations. In 2006 he conducted a seven-week criminal securities fraud and insider trading jury trial in Newark federal court, involving more than 60,000 pages of documents produced in discovery, which was resolved during trial with a plea agreement dismissing the securities fraud counts with the highest potential sentencing exposure.

Mr. Azzarello has been recognized in the Best Lawyers in America and Top Lawyers in New Jersey in the practice of Criminal Defense. In 2006 and again in 2007, after a comprehensive rating process, he was named by his peers to the top 100 New Jersey Super Lawyers. Mr Azzarello was also separately recognized as a New Jersey Super Lawyer in the specialty of white collar criminal defense.

Mr. Azzarello served as counsel to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly referred to as the “9/11 Commission.” While serving on the Commission, Mr. Azzarello's principal responsibilities included investigating and evaluating the response to the terrorist attacks of the Offices of the President and Vice President of the United States, the Department of Defense and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the Federal Aviation Administration, and state and local government.

From 1992-2002, he was with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, starting in the Criminal Division in Newark, proceeding then to the Special Prosecution Division and ultimately to the appointment of Deputy Chief, Criminal Division. As Deputy Chief with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Azzarello supervised Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the investigation and prosecution of an array of federal criminal offenses and had direct supervisory litigation responsibilities in numerous federal criminal trials, and served as office-wide international crime coordinator.

As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Azzarello received the Attorney General’s Special Achievement Award for Sustained Superior Performance of Duty; was selected by the U.S. Attorney to serve as an Instructor at the Department of Justice National Advocacy Institute, Washington, D.C.; received the Attorney General’s Special Achievement Award for the successful trial and conviction of seventeen defendants on RICO, homicide and narcotics charges in United States v. Victor Gonzalez, et al., a case in which four defendants were sentenced to life without parole; received a Letter of Commendation from Louis J. Freeh, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for the successful prosecution of United States v. Gonzalez, et al., and received a U.S. Attorney’s Special Achievement Award for the successful prosecution of United States v Galluzzi, a case involving public corruption.

Following his service in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Azzarello practiced at Carella, Byrne, Bain, Gilfillan, Cecchi, Stewart & Olstein in Roseland, New Jersey. Prior to founding AWFFA, he was a partner in the white collar crime and internal investigations group at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, LLP in Newark, New Jersey.

Mr. Azzarello has also served as lead legal commentator on Court TV, providing analysis of constitutional issues arising in high-profile trials.

Mr. Azzarello received his J.D. magna cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law, J.D. in 1990, where he was the Associate Editor of the Seton Hall Law Review and President of the Student Bar Association, and his B.A. cum laude from Georgetown University in 1985. He served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Nicholas H. Politan, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, from 1990 to 1992.

Member, Board of Trustees, Joseph P. Miele Foundation, West Caldwell, New Jersey (1994-Present)
Grantor, The Grazioso Children's September 11th Trust Fund
Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey, Executive Board