Vinny is an accomplished trial attorney. Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, he tried numerous federal jury trials as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in cases involving murder and other violent crimes, public corruption, financial and health care frauds, money laundering, complex tax schemes, misbranding of drugs, child exploitation, and narcotics trafficking. Notably, he delivered the government’s opening statement in the high-profile and successful prosecution of the then-sitting Philadelphia District Attorney for bribery, extortion, and fraud. Vinny has also briefed and argued appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Prior to joining the DOJ, Vinny helped steer large patent and trademark litigation matters through fact and expert discovery, Markman hearings, and appeals before the Federal Circuit as a partner at a leading IP firm in Chicago.
U.S. Department of Justice Career
Vinny previously served as Deputy Criminal Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where he had oversight over investigations and prosecutions involving national security, cybercrime, violent and organized crime, and narcotics trafficking. He also previously served as Chief of National Security and Cybercrime at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In that role, he supervised and led investigations and prosecutions of terrorism, espionage, computer crimes (including hacking and ransomware attacks), export control violations, and thefts of trade secrets. Vinny served as a DOJ-designated National Security Cyber Specialist and a Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property attorney. He also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of California.
In addition, Vinny served overseas in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia as DOJ’s Resident Legal Advisor for Balkans Counterterrorism. While overseas, he worked with high-level officials within the DOJ, the FBI, the U.S. Department of State (including U.S. Embassies), the U.S. Department of Defense, and foreign governments on terrorism cases and sensitive policy issues, including the repatriation and prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters.
