Hotshot New York lawyer Chris Morvillo proved he was a “chip off the old block” when he beat the feds and won an acquittal for UK tech titan Mike Lynch in one of the biggest fraud trials in Silicon Valley history — carrying on his father’s legacy as one of the nation’s top white-collar criminal lawyers, a longtime family friend says.
Morvillo, 59, was on Lynch’s superyacht celebrating his legal victory in the $11 billion fraud case when the ship was hit by a surprise squall and sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday.
He and his wife, Neda, are missing and feared dead.
“I think it would be hard for any young lawyer to come into the business and make a reputation for yourself with the shadow of your dad’s influence,” veteran white-collar criminal attorney Ronald Riopelle, 65, told The Post.
He compared the father and son to baseball stars Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.
“It doesn’t happen that often — the son is able to play in the same league as their dad.”
Chris’ father, Bob Morvillo, who died in 2011 at age 73, got his start in the legal world in the 1960s as a federal prosecutor focused on securities fraud and targeted corporate leaders.
His prosecutions helped spark a surge in demand for corporate defense lawyers — which the elder Morvillo filled himself and became a pioneer in the field of white-collar criminal defense.
He represented the likes of Martha Stewart and ex-AIG CEO Maurice R. Greenberg. Former Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance even worked at Morvillo’s firm — Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello PC.
When Chris Morvillo graduated from Fordham School of Law, he went into the family business and became a white-collar crime lawyer as well — serving as an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York before moving on to his dad’s firm and then joining London-based firm Clifford Chance.
Even as Chris Morvillo carved out his own reputation as a litigator, he staked out a very different reputation from his father.
“Bob was a famously great lawyer — but, man, he did not suffer fools easily,” Riopelle said. “Bob was very tough. Chris was full of fun.”
He added: “Chris was just a doll… He was a fun guy. He was nice guy… He was happy-go-lucky guy, good sense of humor. His dad had a bit of a temper and a hard edge. Chris didn’t have that.”
What to know after a tornado sank the yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily:
- A superyacht capsized off the coast of Sicily after a tornado hit the area early Monday, killing six passengers and leaving one missing.
- British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was identified as one of the bodies pulled from the wreckage. His teenage daughter, Hannah, is still missing.
- Lynch — known as “Britain’s Bill Gates” — had invited guests from Clifford Chance, a legal firm that represented him, and Invoke Capital, his own company, on the voyage, according to the Telegraph.
- Security camera footage shot from 650 feet from where the Bayesian sank Monday shows it disappearing.
- A rare and unexpected “black swan” weather event may have led to the Bayesian’s speedy demise, maritime experts say.
Chris Morvillo, however, proved his legal acumen once and for all in June when he helped secure Lynch — known as the “British Bill Gates” — a total acquittal on fraud charges alleging he’d cooked the books when he sold his company Autonomy to HP in 2011 for $11 billion.
HP later wrote down $8.8 billion from the acquisition and accused Lynch of inflating the value of Autonomy.
Lynch was charged by the US Justice Department, and faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted — but Chris managed to clear him of all federal charges in June after an explosive three-month trial that was dubbed “one of Silicon Valley’s biggest-ever fraud cases.”
Colleagues of his father said he would have been glowing with pride to see his son secure a rare total victory. Fewer than 1% of federal charges result in acquittals.
“He would have said he’s a chip off the old block,” said Riopelle, who knew Bob Morvillo for more than 30 years.
Bob even tried cases with Chris over the years, along with his other sons Scott and Greg.
“Their dad was very proud of their work and I know he’d be very proud of him now,” Riopelle said, adding that Chris was “at the peak of his career in a lot of ways.”
“He was a totally devoted father — he’d be totally heartbroken, as any father would be,” he said.
Morvillo’s firm Clifford Chance said it was “in shock and deeply saddened” by his loss in a statement to the Wall Street Journal.
“We are completely devastated by the news concerning Chris and Neda, and our hearts go out to all of those involved,” the statement said.
Since the Bayesian sank before dawn Monday morning, five bodies have been recovered from the wreckage lying under 160 feet of water.
Lynch’s body had been identified.
In addition to the Morvillos and Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, also missing are Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy.
Ship cook Ricardo Thomas — one of 10 crew members onboard — was found dead shortly after the disaster.
