Irving H. Saypol

Irving Howard Saypol (September 3, 1905 - June 30, 1977) was a United States attorney for the Southern District of New York and New York Supreme Court Justice. He was involved in several high profile Communist prosecutions, including the Alger Hiss, William Remington, Abraham Brothman, and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg cases.

Born in New York City to Louis and Michakin Saypol, Saypol married in September 1925 to Adele D. Kaplan and later graduated from Brooklyn Law School. Saypol quickly advanced in the United States Attorney's Office. Irving Saypol led the prosecution of several members of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) including Eugene Dennis, William Z. Foster, John Gates, Robert G. Thompson, Gus Hall, William Remington, Abraham Brothman and Miriam Moskowitz. As a result of these prosecutions Saypol was described by Time Magazine as "the nations's number one legal hunter of top communists."

In 1950-1951 he was Chief Prosecutor for the federal government in the espionage case against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and Morton Sobell. He gained a reputation as an efficient prosecutor of Communists. Saypol served on the New York Supreme Court from 1952 until 1968. In 1976 he was indicted with Surrogate S. Samuel DiFalco for bribery and perjury in connection with an alleged scheme to obtain appraisal and auction commission funds for Saypol's son; the charges were dismissed. Saypol died from cancer shortly thereafter in June 1977.

Sources

• The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Sawyers to Saywell
• Biographies of Participants in the Rosenbergs Trial