Former SDNY Prosecutor Howard Master and DEA Official Chris Urben Join Nardello & Co.

Nardello & Co., the global investigations firm, is pleased to announce the arrival of Howard Master as Managing Director and Counsel to the CEO, based in the firm’s New York office, and Chris Urben as Managing Director, based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

Master brings experience as a leader, trial lawyer and investigator in federal, state and local prosecutors’ offices, including service as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). Over the course of his career, Master led groundbreaking investigations, prosecutions, and litigation, including charges against Sheldon Silver, the former Speaker of the New York State Assembly; litigation against Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company; multistate and local investigations of the opioids industry; and the exoneration of a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder.

As Managing Director and Counsel to the CEO, Master will be an integral member of the firm’s white collar defense, civil litigation, anti-corruption and fraud investigation, and monitorship and independent investigation practices. He will also support the firm’s global commitments and advise on major strategic initiatives.

Urben has served 25 years in various roles within the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), most recently as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Far East. He was the DEA Attaché in Copenhagen, where he oversaw Scandinavia and the Baltic regions for the agency. He has a proven track record of leading sophisticated international money laundering and threat finance investigations, as well as global undercover operations that dismantled several of the most significant transnational criminal organizations.

Urben will also join the firm’s litigation support practice and support the firm’s international investigations work.

Master and Urben join the firm together today, reuniting after having worked together in the SDNY, where they helped to lead a successful effort by a dozen international and local law enforcement agencies that targeted several organized crime groups operating in the ports and borders of the United States, Mexico, Panama, and Colombia.

“We are looking forward to Howard and Chris joining our team of world class investigators,” said Dan Nardello, Chairman and CEO of Nardello & Co. “Their combined expertise and talent for leading significant global investigations will enhance our unique ability to tackle the most complex matters facing companies throughout the world.”

Master said, “Having worked with many exceptional investigators, I am excited to join Nardello & Co.’s team of top tier professionals. I don’t think anybody conducts complex investigations as well as Nardello, and I’m looking forward to helping to address the rapidly evolving challenges our clients face.”

“Howard is the finest investigative prosecutor I’ve ever worked with, so to join Nardello’s team with him is a singular professional and personal privilege,” Urben said. “I’m looking forward to adding my skills and experience to Nardello’s bench of recognized industry leaders and supporting the many prosecutors whom I previously worked with who are now in private practice.”

After serving in the SDNY, Master worked as Senior Enforcement Counsel to the Attorney General of New York and as Special Counsel to the Suffolk County District Attorney. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where he teaches an advanced seminar on corruption law. He received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree from Yale University.

Urben served more than 12 years in the DEA’s New York and New Jersey Divisions as well as two DEA overseas tours in Europe, where he coordinated the DEA’s work with international law enforcement agencies. He has a BS in accounting from Villanova University.

About Nardello & Co.

Nardello & Co. is a global investigations firm whose experienced professionals handle a broad range of issues including civil and white collar criminal litigation and arbitration support, due diligence, anti-corruption & fraud investigations, asset tracing, activist defense, political risk and strategic intelligence, digital investigations and cyber defense, monitorships and independent investigations, and compliance consulting.

Noted as the pre-eminent firm in the US market by Chambers & Partners, the firm’s clients include the world’s leading law firms and financial institutions, Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies, high-net-worth individuals and family offices, governments, NGOs, sports organizations, and academic institutions.

With offices in New York, London, Washington DC, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Dubai, Nardello & Co. maintains a professional staff that includes former US federal prosecutors, US and international lawyers, former law enforcement personnel and intelligence operatives, computer forensic experts, research analysts, former journalists, financial crime specialists, and forensic accountants.

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