Garden City lawyer a TV talk-show regular

Randy Zelin would have to be one of the most recognizable lawyers on Long Island these days. Zelin, 49, of the Garden City law firm of Moritt Hock & Hamroff, now appears on the Fox News Channel practically every afternoon, on "Studio B with Shepard Smith."

What keeps Zelin busy these days is white-collar crime. He heads up the white-collar crime practice at Moritt Hock, which he joined last February.

And white-collar crime is on the rise these days and a hot-hot topic for the talk shows. Zelin offers three reasons for the reported rise of such crimes: the bad economy, the desire of government to crack down on white-collar criminals, and technology that allows crooks wide access to the world of finance.

Bankruptcy fraud is huge these days, Zelin said, "People are filling out bankruptcy forms," he said. "They may not be as forthcoming as they should be."

TV and Zelin got together in an odd way. A few years ago he was sitting in the law office of a friend who was being prepped for an appearance. The friend was asked a question by a television assistant. Zelin knew the answer and shouted it out. The assistant said he would be welcome on the show.

Many of the white-collar criminals Zelin meets, he says, are not bad people. "They're good people who did dumb things," he said.