Denker, Barry Howard

1942 - 1996  (53 years)

• Name	Denker, Barry Howard  [1]
  Born	6 Dec 1942  [2]
  Gender	Male
  Died	1 Mar 1996	New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA   [3]
  Person ID	I25769	Our Family | Weiss Lang Family Branch
  Last Modified	26 Apr 2026

  
  

  Family	Metzger, Maxine Joan
  Children	1. Denker, Edward Philip   2. Denker, Steven Harris   3. Denker, Andrew Evan
  Last Modified	26 Apr 2026
  Family ID	F9709	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Died - 1 Mar 1996 - New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  BARRY DENKER, 53, EXILED LAWYER Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) - Tuesday, March 5, 1996 Barry H. Denker's life had two acts - the first as a corrupt, fur-coated lawyer who wore a wire and helped convict three Philadelphia judges on the take, the last as a pseudonymous patron of American crafts in the South. He died of a blood clot in his heart Friday at age 53. He had been living under an assumed name, in a still-classified town, as part of the witness-protection program. At 6-foot-2 and more than 300 pounds, Mr. Denker cut an impressive figure in the criminal courts of Philadelphia during the 1970s and '80s, handling about 500 cases a year. He sported a full-length fur coat, favored cowboy hats and boots, and disbursed enough cash to grease the wheels of justice, making sure they turned his way. Typically, Mr. Denker would offer judges money in exchange for favorable decisions, or bribe court officials to steer his cases away from the most pro-prosecution judges, investigators said. ''The anomaly is, he prided himself on being a good lawyer,'' said a longtime Philadelphia lawyer who did not want to be named. ''In reality, he was a lawyer who wanted to win too much.'' Possessed of a thick nasal voice and dark beard, Mr. Denker decided to become an undercover informant in August 1986 after investigators taped him bribing a state parole agent. ''I felt like I was a disgusting human being for what I had done,'' Mr. Denker once said. ''But I feel like I'm going to be doing something good for the entire city of Philadelphia.'' One of his primary contributions to the city involved wearing a wire and collecting evidence against three judges whom Mr. Denker had identified as corrupt: Kenneth S. Harris, Thomas N. Shiomos and Herbert R. Cain Jr. In the fall of 1986, Mr. Denker secretly taped all three. One such recording captures Mr. Denker talking to Cain about a case: ''I want a 'not-guilty' on this one,'' Mr. Denker is overheard saying. Cain complied, investigators said, soon dismissing the case after accepting Mr. Denker's $1,500. Eventually, Mr. Denker testified against the three, who were all convicted of extortion in 1988. Mr. Denker had received a death threat, so authorities moved him to Albuquerque, N.M., where he ran an art gallery. A man with a gun was spotted near his gallery, so Mr. Denker was relocated, and placed in the witness-protection program. After the judges were convicted, Mr. Denker was sentenced to a prison in the South for a year and a day, his attorney, Neil E. Jokelson, said yesterday. Mr. Denker left prison, ''then made himself another life. He became a businessman and provided for his family,'' Jokelson said. Jokelson would not name the prison, nor would he say how much time Mr. Denker actually served. Mr. Denker is survived by his wife, Betsy, and sons Andrew, Steven, and Edward.

  
  

• Sources

  [S79] Wedding Announcement, weddingchannel.com. [S293] Social Security Death Index, Ancestry.com, (Name: Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007;). [S48] Obit, for Elizabeth.