White Collar Crime
Mr. Rhea has an extensive criminal law background. He worked as an associate in one of Los Angeles’ top criminal defense firms; he prosecuted a large and diverse case load as an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C. and in the United States Virgin Islands; and as a private practitioner since the early 1980’s, he has represented scores of criminal defendants charged with offenses ranging from first degree murder to sophisticated business and tax crimes.
In recent years, Mr. Rhea represented the chief financial officer of a prominent business partnership in a prosecution brought by the Criminal Tax Division of the Justice Department; a major commercial business in a tax prosecution brought by the Criminal Tax Division of the Justice Department; a prominent doctor prosecuted by Federal authorities for illegally prescribing controlled substances; and a territorial Senator prosecuted by the Virgin Islands Office of the Attorney General.
Business Litigation
Since entering private practice in 1982, Mr. Rhea has represented numerous high-profile businessmen and professionals both in mediations and in trials. In highly technical business and tax matters, Mr. Rhea often associates the firm of Andreozzi and Fickess, which has extensive national experience in those areas.
Recently Mr. Rhea has represented the owner of a Caribbean island in a multi-million dollar trial spawned by an aborted sale to an NFL star; the principals in a wealth management business who were sued by a disgruntled client; and a judge who was defamed by a newspaper.
Personal Injury / Toxic Tort
A central focus of Mr. Rhea’s practice has been representing clients injured in accidents or by exposure to toxic materials. Over the past twenty years, Mr. Rhea has represented hundreds of refinery workers who sustained catastrophic injuries or were poisoned by toxic dusts and fumes at the workplace. He has brought ground-breaking lawsuits against Suzuki, Toyota, Fiat, Ford, GM, and other automobile manufacturers for injuries resulting from design defects such as insufficient firewalls, faulty occupant protection, and rollover instability. He has represented clients – and the estates of clients – in several airplane crashes and near-crashes, including the historic turbulence encounter of an A-300 airbus.
Mr. Rhea recently represented 86 refinery workers in a trial against Hess Oil Company for injury caused by exposure to cobalt and nickel catalysts in the workplace; more than a hundred workers in litigation against a petroleum refinery and an alumina refinery for injuries caused by exposure to asbestos, silica, catalysts, and other toxic substances; and the State of New Jersey, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Territory of the United States Virgin Islands in litigation against a range of corporate defendants for releasing toxic substances into ground water.