Thomas Phillip Puccio (September 12, 1944 – March 11, 2012) was an American trial attorney who served in the United States Department of Justice, including as an investigator and prosecutor in the Abscam case, before working as a criminal defense lawyer representing high-profile clients such as Claus von Bülow.
[1] After law school he joined the Brooklyn office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York as an assistant prosecutor.
He secured the convictions of several elected officials, including U.S. senator Harrison A. Williams, U.S. Rep. Michael J. Myers, and Camden, New Jersey mayor Angelo Errichetti.
[1] The 1981 film Prince of the City features a character loosely based on Puccio: Assistant U.S. Attorney George Polito, played by James Tolkan.
[5] In the 2013 film American Hustle, which dramatized the Abscam sting operation, Alessandro Nivola played Anthony Amado, a fictionalized version of Puccio.