He attended Abraham Lincoln High School, joined the United States Navy for World War II, and served from 1944 until 1946.

[6] Podell was elected as a Democrat to the 90th United States Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Abraham J. Multer.

[7] 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.

[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.