Albert Joseph "Al" Krieger (November 4, 1923 – May 14, 2020)[1] was an American criminal defense lawyer, most prominently for figures in organized crime and drug trafficking, as well as for a number of Oglala Lakota activists during criminal proceedings following the Wounded Knee Occupation.
[1] Krieger first rose to prominence in the late 1960s through his representation of crime boss Joseph Bonanno; together with his partner Susan Van Dusen, he helped to keep Bonanno free from imprisonment for more than a decade until he was convicted in an obstruction of justice case by Federal District Judge William A. Ingram after a non-jury trial in 1980.
Krieger often said that in his 60 years of practicing law he was proudest of having worked without a fee on behalf of the American Indian Movement members who occupied Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973.
[3] He provided posthumous commentary regarding the latter trial for the Netflix documentary, Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (2021).
[5] Law school students, and practicing lawyers, regularly studied Mr. Krieger’s techniques for wearing down witnesses.