Attorney Biographies

A member of the Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property Groups, Mr. Oliverio is among the firm�s practice leaders in both civil and criminal litigation. His current practice includes complex litigation involving high-dollar, high-exposure issues for business clients, primarily before the United States District Courts. He has served as lead trial counsel in numerous commercial cases, intellectual property cases as well as white collar criminal cases involving taxation, fraud, and business crimes. Mr. Oliverio heads the firm�s False Claims Act (FCA) Practice Group and has experience in the representation of both relators and the defense of FCA cases in a variety of subject areas, including health care reimbursement, defense procurement, and medical device matters. Mr. Oliverio is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of New York and has served as a Special Prosecutor appointed by the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.

Mr. Comiskey has held top-level government positions with New York State agencies responsible for tax enforcement and for investigating and prosecuting health care fraud, complex financial fraud, physician misconduct, and official misconduct. His experience prior to joining Hodgson Russ includes serving as the deputy attorney general in charge of New York's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the largest state law enforcement unit in the nation dedicated to fighting Medicaid fraud and patient abuse. As a prosecutor, Mr. Comiskey held leadership positions in the attorney general's Criminal Division prosecuting fraud, corruption, and organized crime cases. He also served as chief assistant district attorney in Rensselaer County and as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Ms. Dutta concentrates her practice in business litigation, and her experience includes matters involving white-collar crime and false claim act litigation, specifically in the area of health law and health care fraud. Her experience includes matters involving white-collar crime, municipal zoning, antitrust issues, and intellectual property. Prior to joining Hodgson Russ, Ms. Dutta served as an intern at the Civil Appellate Division of the United States Department of Justice and at the Office of the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment. She has also worked as a legal and economic research assistant regarding antitrust implications of mergers and acquisitions at a prominent national law firm.

Mr. Fluskey has a broad range of experience in complex litigation and dispute resolution, which includes representing clients before federal courts, state courts, and arbitration panels. He has represented relators in False Claims Act cases as well as corporate defendants in False Claims Act cases and government investigations.

Mr. Kearney focuses his practice on federal court litigation, including RICO and civil and criminal antitrust cases. He has defended clients in securities and antitrust class actions and litigated a number of corporate governance disputes. Mr. Kearney clerked for Judge James L. Oakes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun during the October 1988 term. After his federal clerkships, Mr. Kearney served as a confidential advisor to Judge Howard M. Holzmann of the U.S./Iran Claims Tribunal at The Hague, which dealt with a variety of public and private international law issues.

Ms. Merola represents corporations, financial institutions, health care providers, and individuals in all aspects of government investigations, internal audits, corporate compliance matters, and civil and criminal litigation. Ms. Merola has experience in various health care statutes, including the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Antikickback Statute, and the False Claims Acts. Specifically, she has represented healthcare professionals and medical device companies under investigation for submitting false claims. She has also represented hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, OMRDD providers, and drug treatment providers in a variety of regulatory and compliance matters. Ms. Merola served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Mr. Sedita has represented individuals and companies in general civil litigation and administrative and criminal enforcement matters for more than 30 years. He has defended and prosecuted civil False Claims Act cases, acting for both companies and private relators. He has broad experience with most aspects of the regulatory environment affecting government contracting, health care, and aerospace/defense procurement. A former chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the New York State Bar Association, Mr. Sedita has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America since its inception and is designated in the categories of White-Collar Criminal Defense, Commercial Litigation, and Bet-the-Company Litigation.

Mr. Sinatra has represented whistleblowers exposing frauds against several government agencies spanning the transportation, medical, and component product industries. He also has played a substantial role in the representation of numerous Fortune 500 companies and other significant clients in complex and multi-jurisdictional litigation. He has extensive experience in litigation involving product liability claims, class actions, False Claims Act defense, forum disputes, supply and indemnification agreements, unfair competition claims, bankruptcy-related issues, and other commercial disputes. Mr. Sinatra's successful engagements include the trial and appeal overturning a $96 million Texas jury verdict in litigation over airplane engine crankshafts and the defense of numerous suits claiming hundreds of millions of dollars of steel frame building damage arising from the Northridge, California earthquake.

Mr. Zuffranieri is a partner in the Business Litigation Practice Group and chair of the Construction Law Practice Group at Hodgson Russ. He is also the litigation representative of the firm's International/ Cross-Border Practice Group. His experience spans the full range of civil litigation matters, including general business, construction, and cross-border litigation. As a senior trial and appellate attorney, he handles complex matters with substantial financial exposure to clients. Prior to joining Hodgson Russ in 1985, he was confidential law clerk to the Honorable Reid S. Moule, Justice of the State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department. He lectured in law at the University at Buffalo Law School from 1987-89 and at the State University of New York College at Buffalo from 1984-86.