23) Joe Tacopina - Owner & President Venezia FC & NYC criminal defense attorney

Known as the The Rocky Balboa of Criminal Defense Law, The Devil’s Advocate, and The War Machine, Joseph “Joe” Tacopina is a New York City based criminal defense lawyer and the Owner & President of Venezia Football Club in Italy. 

Representing some of the most high-profile cases and clients including the NYPD, Alex Rodriguez, Jay-Z, Victoria Gotti, and Lillo Brancato, among many others, Tacopina has earned himself the reputation as one of the toughest, most fearless, and prominent attorneys in the country. 

In 2011, he formed part of an American consortium of investors who purchased A.S. Roma, making it the first foreign owned team in Italian football, and becoming the Vice President and Vice-Chairman of the board of directors. In 2014 he became an owner and Chairman of Bologna F.C., a position he held for a brief period before purchasing Venezia F.C. in October 2015. At the time, the team was in the 4th division and only two seasons later, after gaining consecutive promotions, the team is now in Serie B. Tacopina, a relentless work horse and optimist, is very clear about his mission, he won’t stop until the team has reached the Serie A, winning the Scudetto, and becoming a European top club. 

Join us as we discuss his journey, starting from very humble beginnings in Brownsville, Brooklyn, one of the toughest neighborhoods in the United States, to becoming one of the most notorious criminal defense attorneys in history. We touch on his upbringing, daily street fights, boxing training, working the toll booths at the Battery Tunnel and coat-check at a shady nightclub in Westport to make ends meet, investing in undervalued football assets, making Venezia FC a global brand, rubbing shoulders with the Mayor, working with Pippo Inzaghi, and much more.