Louie Casuso, who was both a friend and colleague, has passed away after a short illness.
Louie was a Justice Building regular and irregular. He had a away about him, call it a style, that not many others had.
We met him under unusual circumstances that were, to put it mildly, not pleasant for either of us. But that case passed, and we came away from it impressed by his skills as a lawyer. His voice mannerisms and intonation may have reminded one of a character out of On The Waterfront, but that only served to partly disguise a very crafty and skilled defense attorney. One thing is for certain, Lou Casuso knew his way around a courtroom. After meeting him and settling our differences, he became a friend and we were better for it.
Louie was a friend and mentor to many young lawyers. Many is the time we would see him in the courthouse explaining the facts of life over a cup of coffee to a young lawyer who had just left the SAO or PDs office.
Louie was not just a great lawyer, he was an upstanding friend. We will feel his loss and he will be missed.