Ronald Bekoff, prominent defense attorney from Woodbury, dies at 83

Attorney Ronald Bekoff had a courtroom skill that matched his instinct for making people feel seen, family and friends said.

His daughter, Allison Bekoff, described him as "larger than life," a man who could enter a room and make each person feel like his best friend.

Bekoff, a prominent Long Island criminal defense attorney whose work helped establish a landmark court decision, died of heart failure on July 14. He was 83.

Known for his passion and playful spirit, Bekoff also was famous for his collection of more than 1,500 empty ice cream pint containers that filled shelves, climbed stairways and spread through rooms of his Woodbury home.

His longtime friend Sandy Kurtz, of Easthampton, Massachusetts, said the collection was never really the point.

"What Ron really collected was people," Kurtz said.

Courtroom advocate

Bekoff spent six years as a Nassau County prosecutor before entering private practice and becoming a founding member of Hession & Bekoff. He defended clients in state and federal court on charges ranging from murder and narcotics offenses to conspiracy and driving while intoxicated.

He earned a business degree from the University of Toledo in Ohio in 1965 and graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1968.

His clients included Wall Street securities analyst Joseph Pikul, whom Bekoff represented during a widely covered 1989 murder trial.

Joseph Lo Piccolo, Bekoff’s former law partner in Garden City, said Bekoff handled front-page cases and the smallest matters with equal care.

"He treated everyone the same," Lo Piccolo said. "He always wanted to know about you."

Kurtz said Bekoff’s commanding presence was backed by exacting preparation. He drafted arguments longhand and often identified issues others overlooked.

Landmark case

Bekoff represented Sebastian Ventimiglia at trial in the People v. Ventimiglia, the landmark case that established the procedure judges use to decide, outside the jury’s presence, whether prosecutors may present evidence that a defendant committed other crimes not charged in the case.

Bekoff’s objection allowed the state’s highest court to consider the issue, he said.

"Without the protest, it would never have gotten to the Court of Appeals," retired State Supreme Court Justice William Donnino said.

That care extended to clients facing some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Retired Nassau County Court Judge Jerald Carter, a longtime friend of Bekoff’s, said Bekoff never treated clients or cases as interchangeable, instead considering each person and family.

"He did not put clients in the same paper bag, so to speak," Carter said. "He looked at each client and the families and adopted an approach that was unique."

Outside the courtroom, Bekoff was a regular at the Orient in Bethpage, where he inspired a combination of two noodle soups that customers ordered as the "Bekoff soup," his daughter, Allison Bekoff, said. He had a gift for knowing what everyone at the table would enjoy and making sure each person was represented in the meal.

"Watching him at a table was like watching him in a courtroom," Allison Bekoff said. "Food really was his love language."

'Ultimate cheerleader'

A lifelong Mets, Jets and Islanders fan, Bekoff spent over 20 years compiling a handwritten book ranking the greatest collegiate basketball players. Allison Bekoff called him "the ultimate cheerleader," as eager to support a child at a neighborhood game as a professional team.

She described her father as "a big kid" at heart, a quality children throughout the community recognized immediately.

During the final six months of his life, three neighborhood boys routinely came to his home to play cards, watch television and share ice cream.

"They became his best buddies," his daughter said. "He made them feel special and made them laugh and really added something to their lives."

It was the same gift that allowed Bekoff to sustain relationships throughout every stage of his life, from childhood friends and fraternity brothers to neighbors he met while walking his dog. With treats always in his pockets, he became the neighborhood "cookie dealer," Allison Bekoff said.

"He could walk into a room and make anyone feel special," she said. "He made every single person feel like they mattered, they were heard and they were accepted."

In addition to his daughter, of California, he is survived by his wife, Carolyn Bekoff, of Woodbury; brother, Barry Bekoff, of Woodbury; his daughter's husband, Omar Bailey; son, Steven Bekoff, of Syosset, his wife, Jodi Bekoff, and their children, Avery and Zachary Bekoff.

A funeral was held July 17 at Gutterman’s Woodbury Chapel, where more than 300 mourners packed the venue.