
William J. Comiskey
Practices & Industries
Admissions
- New York
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
- U. S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Clerkships
- Honorable Hugh R. Jones, New York Court of Appeals
Education
Manhattan College, B.A.
Fordham University School of Law, J.D.
Bill represents businesses and individuals facing government investigations or prosecutions involving alleged fraudulent or wrongful conduct, including those suspected of violating New York's tax, health, and criminal laws and the laws governing licensed professionals.
Since joining Hodgson Russ in late 2010, he has secured the exoneration of a New York businessman wrongly indicted for tax fraud; successfully defended a national company under investigation by the New York State Office of the Attorney General for alleged tax law violations initiated by a tax whistleblower; and has been retained as a consultant in tax whistleblower cases by counsel for both whistleblowers and companies under investigation. His practice includes the representation of taxpayers involved in state tax litigation, the representation of physicians and certified public accountants (CPAs) involved in licensing or disciplinary matters and the representation of health care providers under investigation by the New York State's Office of the Attorney General and Office of the Medicaid Inspector General. He both prosecutes meritorious whistleblower cases and defends those accused of violations by whistleblowers or the government.
Bill has more than 30 years of government experience and has held top-level government positions with New York State agencies responsible for tax enforcement and for investigating and prosecuting health care fraud, physician misconduct, complex financial fraud and official misconduct.
Prior to joining Hodgson Russ, Bill was the deputy commissioner for tax enforcement at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, where he served as the state's top tax enforcement officer in charge of approximately 2,500 auditors, collectors and criminal investigators. In the health care area, Bill served as the deputy attorney general in charge of New York's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the largest state law enforcement unit in the nation dedicated to fighting Medicaid fraud, which was, during his tenure, involved in multiple major national qui tam whistleblower actions. In a prior appointment, Bill served as director of the Bureau of Professional Medical Conduct in New York's Department of Health, where he was counsel and chief prosecutor for New York's physician disciplinary board. As a prosecutor, Bill held leadership positions in the attorney general's Criminal Division, prosecuting fraud, corruption and organized crime cases. He also served as chief assistant district attorney in Rensselaer County and as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney's office. He has also been an adjunct instructor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law on appellate advocacy and legal writing and at Brooklyn Law School on corporate criminal prosecutions.
Honors
At Fordham University School of Law, Bill received the American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in New York Practice. He was a commentary editor of the Fordham Law Review.
In the News
- New York Law Journal, September 17, 2018
- Law360, March 10, 2014
- William J. Comiskey and Timothy P. Noonan Cited in 'Should the MTC Take on a Model False Claims Act?State Tax Notes, April 1, 2013
- Post-Star, April 5, 2012
- April 5, 2012
- Albany Business Review, January 27, 2012
- LexisNexis, June 1, 2011
- Tax Analysts, January 10, 2011
- Syracuse Post-Standard, January 9, 2011
- Albany Business Review, December 10, 2010
- BNA's Tax Management Weekly State Tax Report, December 3, 2010
- State Tax Notes, November 29, 2010
- Business Groups Keep Pressure on to Change State’s Tax-Audit ProgramAlbany Business Review, November 12, 2010
- November 1, 2010
Publications
- Hodgson Russ LLP State & Local Tax Alert, July 6, 2023
- Hodgson Russ State and Local Tax Alert, May 5, 2023
- Hodgson Russ SALT Alert, January 3, 2023
- Hodgson Russ TriState Tax Alert , September 12, 2022
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, April 12, 2022
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, March 28, 2022
- Hodgson Russ New Jersey Tax Alert, January 21, 2022
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, January 18, 2022
- Hodgson Russ SALT and Renewable Energy Alert, November 15, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, November 3, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, October 1, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, August 26, 2021
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, August 17, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, July 26, 2021
- Hodgson Russ State and Local Tax Alert, July 1, 2021
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, April 12, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, November 25, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, November 10, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, October 27, 2020
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, October 22, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, October 5, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Tristate Tax Alert, September 29, 2020
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, June 12, 2020
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, June 3, 2020
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, April 10, 2020
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, April 3, 2020
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, March 21, 2020
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, February 10, 2020
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, June 28, 2019
- Hodgson Russ State & Local Tax Alert, April 17, 2019
- Health Law Alert, January 24, 2019
- State and Local Tax Alert, January 16, 2019
- Health Care Alert, December 20, 2017
- State & Local Tax Alert, May 2, 2016
- State & Local Tax Alert, June 12, 2015
- JD Supra, January 15, 2014
- State & Local Tax Alert, June 28, 2013
- State & Local Tax Alert, April 9, 2013
- State & Local Tax Alert, March 28, 2013
- State & Local Tax Alert, March 8, 2013
- State Tax Notes, November 26, 2012
- State & Local Tax Alert, October 18, 2012
- State & Local Tax Alert, September 13, 2012
- State Tax Notes, November 21, 2011
- State & Local Tax Alert, June 23, 2011
- State & Local Tax Alert, June 3, 2011
- Unreported Offshore Accounts? New Yorkers Can Avoid State Tax Penalties Through Voluntary DisclosureTax Stringer, May 2011
- State Tax Notes, February 15, 2011
- Tax Stringer, January 1, 2011
- The Bulletin, January 2011
- Buffalo Law Journal, November 22, 2010
Blog Posts
- Is It Time for New York to Consider Augmenting Its Tax Whistleblower Laws to Include a Program Modeled on the Federal Statute? The Whistleblower Blog, November 12, 2012
- News for New York Tax Whistleblowers The Whistleblower Blog, September 8, 2011
- Important Tax Whistleblower News for Practitioners, Businesses, and Whistleblowers The Whistleblower Blog, May 31, 2011
- Good News for Tax Whistleblowers at the Federal Level The Whistleblower Blog, April 15, 2011
- Good News for Tax Whistleblowers in New York State The Whistleblower Blog, April 15, 2011
- New York Attorney General Schneiderman Acts Quickly to Target Government Fraud The Whistleblower Blog, February 20, 2011
Presentations & Events
- Saratoga Springs, New York, November 2, 2016
- Harvard Club, 35 W. 44th Street, New York, NY, June 29, 2016
- The Harvard Club, 35 W. 44th Street, New York, NY, Summer 2015
- Summer 2015
- June & July 2014
- Albany, NY, November 13, 2013
- New York, NY, September 26, 2013
- June & July 2013
- Albany, NY, February 13, 2013
- Palm Beach & Naples, FL, January & February 2013
- Albany, NY, December 12, 2012
- Saratoga Springs, NY, June 21, 2012
- June & July 2012
- New York, NY, May 22, 2012
- June & July 2011