Meet Mike
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Mike Kogut, Candidate for District Attorney of Hampden County
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ATTORNEY MICHAEL T. KOGUT
CANDIDATE FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY
HAMPDEN COUNTY
Attorney Michael T. Kogut, has over twenty-five years experience in the law as an Assistant District Attorney, an Assistant Attorney General, a partner in a major New England law firm, a municipal counsel and in the private practice of law. In addition he is nationally recognized for his work in the area of health care fraud investigations and prosecutions as well as the protection of our elderly citizens.
Prior to serving as Of Counsel to the Springfield firm of O'Connell Plumb & Mackinnon, P.C., Mike was a partner in the law firm of Murtha Cullina LLP of Boston, Massachusetts and Hartford, Stamford and New Haven, Connecticut. Mike was a member of the firm's health law group representing while collar defendants in state and federal courts. The firm maintained multiple offices with more than 140 lawyers.
In 1996 Mike Kogut was appointed by then Attorney General Scott Harshbarger as the state's first Assistant Attorney General for Elder Protection. In that leadership role Mike advanced the national elder protection initiatives in health care, finance, legal and consumer areas affecting vulnerable senior citizens for the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG).
From 1991 to 1996 Mike Kogut served as and Assistant Attorney General and Director of the Massachusetts Medicaid Fraud Unit. As director Mike supervised a staff of 35 including eight Assistant Attorneys General along with forensic auditors and investigators as well as support staff in the Attorney General's Boston office. As its director, Mike also supervised multiple grand jury investigations in the Attorney General's Special Grand Jury sitting in Suffolk County.
Under his direction the unit gained national recognition for innovative investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud cases, involving physicians, nursing homes, health care corporations, pharmaceutical manufacturers and other providers of health care goods and services. Through his prosecutions of fraudulent practices, millions of taxpayer dollars were recovered or saved. In addition to fraud and larceny, his unit aggressively prosecuted a number of elder abuse cases leading to punishment for the perpetrators and industry reforms to protection our most vulnerable elder citizens.
From 1986-1991 Mike Kogut was a private attorney in a criminal and civil litigation for two major Western Massachusetts law firms, Keyes and Donnellan, P.C., and Robinson Donovan, P.C. respectively.
He served as an Assistant Attorney General under Attorney General Francis X Bellotti from 1983 to 1986. Prior to serving in that capacity Attorney Kogut was an Assistant District Attorney in Worcester County from 1981-1983.
Mike Kogut has lectured extensively to national and state associations public and private, in the area of health care fraud, patient abuse, long term care reform and state and federal kick back enforcement. He served on the prestigious Legal Committee of the American Health Care Association in Washington, D.C. which represents more than 10,000 non-profit and for profit assisted living, nursing facilities, developmentally-disabled, and sub-acute care providers.
Mike received his B.A. in political science summa cum laude from Springfield College. He is a graduate of Western New England College School of Law where he previously served as adjunct faculty member.
In 1990, at the age of 35 and running as a reform candidate against the established political interests, Mike was narrowly defeated after a county wide recount for the Office of District Attorney of Hampden County. Twenty years later Mike brings that same passion, energy, leadership and commitment for reform to this campaign and asks for your consideration.
Mike was born and raised in Ludlow and has lived for more than 25 years in Springfield with his wife Deborah. They have two children.
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