Edwin Helfant

rdf:langString Edwin Helfant

rdf:langString Edwin Helfant (12 April 1926 Margate, New Jersey – 15 February 1978 Ducktown, Atlantic City) was an American lawyer in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Edwin was a New Jersey Bar Association-certified lawyer and part-time Judiciary of New Jersey judge who held court in Somers Point, New Jersey and Galloway Township, New Jersey from 1963 to 1973. He was a known associate of organized crime figure Herman (Stumpy) Orman. Helfant gained posthumous notoriety when he was murdered by Philadelphia Mafia family member Nicholas (Nick The Blade) Virgilio who was a close associate of Nicky Scarfo. His murder was suspected to be related to the murder of Giuseppe (Pepe) Leva, a Pomona, New Jersey tailor who was murdered in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey for intervening during a brawl between Leva and Phil Leonetti. His law offices were located at the Guarantee Trust Building art 1125 Atlantic Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey that she shared with Herman Orman. At the time of Helfant's murder, he was on trial in Trenton, New Jersey on charges relating to his allegedly accepting $700 to fix an assault and battery case in 1968. A controversial judge, Helfant earned the nickname, "The Fining Squire" during his tenure on the bench in the 1960s and 1970s because of his propensity for fining young underage youth who used phoney identification to enter Jersey Shore bars during the summer months. He was murdered while on trial in Mercer County, New Jersey Trenton, New Jersey on charges of obstructing justice for the 1968 assault case. He was married to a woman named Marcie and was the father of several sons, including Perry who became a defence attorney and Richard, who would later become entertainment coordinator for Sands Atlantic City.