Edward C. Cosgrove, 89, Erie County DA who upgraded fight against crime
prosecutor supreme court of the united states federal bureau of investigation roman catholic diocese of buffalo lawyer supreme court of california law justice crime criminal law buffalo new york district attorney government public law j. edgar hoover judge law clerk criminal justice law enforcement admission to the bar in the united states sandra day o'connor catholic church issues in ethics
dale anderson
Sept. 12, 1934 – July 4, 2024
https://buffalonews.com/content/tncms/site/icon.ico
Buffalo News
When Edward C. Cosgrove became Erie County district attorney in 1974, he brought his savvy as a former FBI special agent to the job.

He cracked down on government corruption in Buffalo and Cheektowaga. To solve the racially motivated murders by the .22 Caliber Killer, he organized a 185-man probe with a 24-hour command post. He was the only local-level prosecutor in the nation to stage a series of sting operations against mobsters.

For assistance, he got cooperation from a wide variety of agencies – the Buffalo Police Department, the State Police, U.S. Justice Department, the FBI and the U.S. Strike Force on Organized Crime. In one of the sting operations, he arranged for a federal grant to get the hundreds of thousands of dollars that federal undercover agents needed to buy a stolen Rembrandt painting.

The strength of his crime-fighting reputation led Reps. Jack F. Kemp, John J. LaFalce and Henry J. Nowak to recommend him to President Jimmy Carter to succeed outgoing Clarence M. Kelly as FBI director in 1977. U.S. Court of Appeals Judge William H. Webster got the job instead.

Mr. Cosgrove declined to run for a third term as district attorney in 1981 and started his own practice, the Cosgrove Law Firm. One of his sons, James, joined him in 2000. He tried more cases to a jury verdict than most lawyers in New York State and continued seeing clients until just before his death July 4 in Mercy Hospital after a brief illness. He was 89.

Born in South Buffalo, Edward Charles Cosgrove was the oldest of nine children of Edward J. and Margaret E. Mathews Cosgrove. His father was a high school guidance counselor and a steelworker.

He attended Our Lady of Victory Academy in Lackawanna and was a 1952 graduate of Bishop Timon High School, where he played football and basketball.

He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1956, working summers in a steel plant, and received a doctor of law degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1959. He was admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia later that year.

After serving in the Army, he became a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was sworn in by its director, J. Edgar Hoover. He was assigned to FBI offices in Washington, D.C.; Jacksonville, Fla., and Baltimore, Md.

Mr. Cosgrove returned to Buffalo in 1963 to practice law, earned a certificate in criminal law from Northwestern University in 1965 and was affiliated with the firm of Cosgrove and O’Connor from 1965 to 1973. He appeared in court frequently in murder and personal injury cases.

He quickly entered politics, seeking the Democratic endorsement for a vacant Assembly seat in 1964. He became a confidential clerk for his uncle, State Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Cosgrove, in 1966.

Active as a campaign manager and fundraiser, he secured the Democratic endorsement to succeed his longtime friend, District Attorney Michael F. Dillon, when Dillon was elevated to State Supreme Court in 1973. He defeated James T. McFarland, a well-known Republican state senator, by nearly 60,000 votes, and was sworn in by his uncle.

He recruited top law school graduates for his staff and cultivated close relationships with local police departments. Although his office handled more than 10,000 felony cases during his tenure, he was not immune from criticism.

Complaints followed an announcement that, due to an overwhelming caseload, he would prosecute only the most serious drunken driving cases. Protests greeted his decision just before leaving office to disband the Major Homicide Task Force he created for the .22 Caliber Killer case after a judge ruled that the suspect, Joseph Christopher, was mentally unfit to stand trial.

Christopher eventually was convicted of the first three of the 13 murders he committed and died in prison in 1993. Mr. Cosgrove received a special commendation for his work from FBI Director Webster.

In private practice, his clients included local and national corporations, insurance companies, physicians, dentists, Canisius and Bishop Timon-St. Jude high schools, St. Michael’s Catholic Church and several orders of Women Religious.

He returned to the other side of the courtroom in 2004 when a Chautauqua County judge named him special prosecutor in the case involving Jamestown Police Officer Michael Watson, suspected in the disappearance and death of a single mother, Yolanda Bindics.

In 2008, he appeared in Chautauqua County Court as prosecutor and defense attorney on the same day – for Watson’s sentencing and to represent a former state police investigator facing charges from a fatal crash.

“Everybody’s entitled to the benefit of a good strong defense in the courtroom,” he explained to Buffalo News reporter Gene Warner, “and the community is entitled to a knowledgeable, strong and just prosecution.”

He was one of Gov. Mario Cuomo’s choices for the newly-formed Horizons Waterfront Commission in 1988, was chairman, and served until 1991. He also was a member of the Superspan Task Force in 2000 and several panels and committees considering the construction of a new Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ont.

For 43 years, he received the highest peer review rating for legal ability and ethical standards in the Martindale-Hubbell law directory. He was selected as one of the top lawyers in New York State by the New York Law Journal in 2023 and received the Legal Elite Lifetime Achievement Award from the Buffalo Law Journal and Business First in 2017.

A member of the county, state and national bar associations, he chaired the state organization’s Trial Lawyers Section in 2003-04, was a member of its House of Delegates in 2005 and 2006 and a member of its Task Force on Lawyer Advertising from 2006 to 2010.

Deeply religious, he was active in numerous Catholic organizations. He was a member of the board of directors of Our Lady of Victory Homes of Charity from 1980 to 1988 and chaired its Father Baker Campaign dinners. He was a former chairman and president of St. Columban Retreat House in Derby and the St. Columban’s Retreat League.

He was a former trustee and board chairman of Christ the King Seminary and D’Youville College. He also was a trustee of the Mercy Hospital of Buffalo Foundation for 16 years.

He chaired 25 kickoff luncheons and was a member of the advisory board for 25 appeal drives for the Diocese of Buffalo’s Retirement Fund for the Religious from 1988 to 2012, raising more than $24.4 million. He continued as a sponsor and adviser for drives from 2013 to 2023. He received a special award from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in 1999.

Other honors included the St. Bonaventure University Gaudete Medal in 2007, the Trocaire College Reflections Award in 2014 and the Spirit of St. Francis Award in 2016 from Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School, which also recognized him as a distinguished alumnus in 1997. He was a Buffalo News Outstanding Citizen in 1977.

A former president of the Notre Dame Club of Buffalo, he was the club’s Man of the Year in 1988. He was Man of the Year in 1975 and 1981 for Morality in Media of Western New York.

He was a former member of the Parish Council of Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church and a member of the Orchard Park Country Club and the Buffalo Club.

He and Dorothea Ann Nicosia, a high school teacher he met on a blind date, were married in St. Benedict’s Catholic Church on Nov. 25, 1967. Devoted to his family, he especially enjoyed watching his grandchildren’s athletic events.

In addition to his wife, survivors include three sons, Dr. Edward J., James C. and Charles M.; a daughter, Mary Cathleen Moran; six sisters, Aileen Flynn, Jeanne Kirk, Cecelia Cosgrove, Clare Andrews, Ellen Schneiderer and Margaret Stiglianese; a brother, Terrence; and eight grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Nativity of Our Lord Church, 26 Thorn Ave., Orchard Park.

Email danderson@buffnews.com.

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