# Richard Gerstein > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Richard_Gerstein > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Richard_Gerstein.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Gerstein > Source revision: 1342928606 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the business executive, see [Cargomatic](/source/Cargomatic). For the musician and songwriter, see [Gene Simmons (album)](/source/Gene_Simmons_(album)). **Richard E. Gerstein** (September 5, 1923, [Pittsburgh](/source/Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania – April 26, 1992, [Miami](/source/Miami), Florida) was an American lawyer and six-term State Attorney for [Miami-Dade County](/source/Miami-Dade_County,_Florida).[1] He obtained the first conviction in the [Watergate scandal](/source/Watergate_scandal), of Watergate burglar [Bernard Barker](/source/Bernard_Barker), and uncovered the first connections between the botched burglary and President [Richard Nixon](/source/Richard_Nixon)'s [reelection campaign](/source/Nixon's_reelection_campaign).[1][2][3] ## Early life Gerstein was born in [Pittsburgh](/source/Pittsburgh), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania), in 1923.[4] He graduated from the [University of Miami](/source/University_of_Miami) with a [Bachelor of Business Administration](/source/Bachelor_of_Business_Administration) in 1947 and a [Bachelor of Laws](/source/Bachelor_of_Laws) in 1949[4] and practiced law. ## World War II He served as a [United States Army Air Forces](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Forces) navigator. During a bombing raid over Germany, he lost his right eye. He was also awarded the [Distinguished Flying Cross](/source/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_States)) for guiding his crippled bomber back to England from a mission over Ludwigshaven, Germany.[1] ## Public service In 1956, he was elected to his first term as State Attorney for [Dade County](/source/Miami-Dade_County,_Florida),[1] at age 33 the youngest state attorney in Florida history[5] and the first Jew elected to a countywide office in Florida.[6] In 1963, anti-semite Donald Branch was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for bombing the home of Don Shoemaker, editor of the *[Miami Herald](/source/Miami_Herald)*, and plotting to assassinate several Jewish Miami community leaders, among them Gerstein.[7] Gerstein launched a month-long inquiry into the controversial [first Liston-Clay (Muhammad Ali) fight](/source/Sonny_Liston_vs._Cassius_Clay) in [Miami Beach](/source/Miami_Beach,_Florida) in 1964, which found no evidence that the boxing match had been fixed; [Sonny Liston](/source/Sonny_Liston) had a sore shoulder during the fight that handicapped him.[8] That same year, he lost a high-profile case against [incestuous](/source/Incest) lovers [Candace Mossler](/source/Candy_Mossler) and her nephew [Melvin Powers](/source/Melvin_Lane_Powers), charged with murdering Mossler's millionaire husband.[3] During his 1968 reelection campaign, Gerstein was accused of taking a bribe by his Republican opponent, [Shelby Highsmith](/source/Shelby_Highsmith), and the *Miami Herald*.[9] However, the grand jury was not convinced; it indicted the alleged bribe giver and another accuser on the charge of [perjury](/source/Perjury) and also rebuked the *Herald*.[9] In the early morning hours of June 17, 1972, police arrested five burglars who had broken into the headquarters of the [Democratic National Committee](/source/Democratic_National_Committee) in the [Watergate Office Building](/source/Watergate_Office_Building) in Washington, DC, and wiretapped at least one telephone. [Martin Dardis](/source/Martin_Dardis), Gerstein's chief investigator, was tipped off about a connection between a [Miami](/source/Miami) bank and [Bernard Barker](/source/Bernard_Barker), one of the burglars.[10][11] A check for $25,000 had recently been deposited in Barker's account. Gerstein launched an investigation, suspecting the operation was based in [Key Biscayne](/source/Key_Biscayne,_Florida), a village in his county; the money linked the burglars to Nixon's reelection campaign.[6] In December 1977, partway through his sixth term, he resigned, effective January 20.[6] He was succeeded by a former aide,[6] [Janet Reno](/source/Janet_Reno). ## Post-public service He became a partner in the law firm of Bailey, Gerstein, Rashkind & Dresnick.[4] In 1991, he represented [Paul Reubens](/source/Paul_Reubens), who played [Pee-wee Herman](/source/Pee-wee_Herman); Reubens pleaded [no contest](/source/Nolo_contendere) to charges of [indecent exposure](/source/Indecent_exposure).[1] ## Death On April 26, 1992, the 68-year-old Gerstein suffered a fatal heart attack.[1] He was taken to [Miami Heart Institute](/source/Miami_Heart_Institute), and was dead on arrival. By chance, Richard Nixon, the man Gerstein had helped to bring down, was brought to Miami Heart Institute the same night, for a sprained ankle.[12] ## Honors Gerstein received the Rockefeller Public Service Award in 1979.[13] In 1992, Miami's courthouse was renamed the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building.[14] ## References 1. Myers, Steven Lee (April 27, 1992). ["Richard E. Gerstein, Dead at 68; Prosecuted Key Watergate Figure"](https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/27/us/richard-e-gerstein-dead-at-68-prosecuted-key-watergate-figure.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* 1. ["Richard E. Gerstein; Prosecutor in Watergate Case"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-05-02-mn-1324-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. May 2, 1992. 1. ["Services set for attorney Gerstein"](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/04/27/Services-set-for-attorney-Gerstein/7061704347200/). [United Press International](/source/United_Press_International). April 27, 1992. 1. ["1984 – Honorable Richard E. Gerstein"](https://floridabarcls.org/1984-honorable-richard-e-gerstein/). [The Florida Bar](/source/The_Florida_Bar) 1. ["Miami Prosecutor Sure of 5th Term"](https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/17/archives/miami-prosecutor-sure-of-5th-term.html). *The New York Times*. September 17, 1972. 1. ["A Power in Miami for Two Decades"](https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/04/archives/a-power-in-miami-for-two-decades.html). *The New York Times*. December 4, 1977. 1. ["Miami Anti-semite Gets 20 Years Prison Sentence Plotted to Kill Jews"](https://www.jta.org/archive/miami-anti-semite-gets-20-years-prison-sentence-plotted-to-kill-jews). [Jewish Telegraphic Agency](/source/Jewish_Telegraphic_Agency). January 18, 1963. 1. ["1964: Cassius Clay crowned world champion"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/25/newsid_4161000/4161687.stm). [BBC News](/source/BBC_News) 1. ["Newspapers: There Go De Judge"](https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,723869-1,00.html). *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))*. November 15, 1968. 1. Amy Driscoll (May 17, 2006). ["Martin Dardis: Obituary"](http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/Herald/obituary.aspx?n=Martin-Dardis&pid=17802469#fbLoggedOut). *[Miami Herald](/source/Miami_Herald)* 1. ["Martin Dardis, 83, Watergate Investigator, Dies"](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/20/us/20dardis.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Associated Press. May 20, 2006. 1. ["Richard Gerstein, Watergate lawyer"](https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1992/04/27/richard-gerstein-watergate-lawyer/). *[Tampa Bay Times](/source/Tampa_Bay_Times)*. April 27, 1992. 1. ["Richard Gerstein Watergate prosecutor"](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-04-27-1992118057-story.html). *[Baltimore Sun](/source/Baltimore_Sun)*. April 27, 1992. 1. ["Late Alumnus Honored with $1 Million Gift to the School of Law's Litigation Skills Program"](https://news.miami.edu/law/stories/2020/04/late-alumnus-honored-with-1-million-gift-to-the-school-of-laws-litigation-skills-program.html). [University of Miami School of Law](/source/University_of_Miami_School_of_Law) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Richard Gerstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Gerstein) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Gerstein?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.