Defence lawyer Edward Poulter Leary died on Sunday.
New Zealand defence lawyer Edward Poulter Leary died of cancer at the age of 71 on Sunday.
Leary, known for his colourful career, was former counsel to Mr Asia drug syndicate kingpin Terry Clark whom Leary introduced to another one of his clients, who then began drug dealing with Clark.
The introduction and his failure to comply with auditing regulations saw him struck off in 1987. At the time he was found to have tried to deceive the Inland Revenue Department and the drug trafficking commission, the NZ Herald reported.
He set up a salmon processing and exporting plant in Auckland with a business partner, before his first wife, Geraldine, won $830,000 in Lotto and the couple bought Kingfish Lodge in the Far North. They then developed it into a game fishing resort.
The couple lived in Whangaroa Harbour for nearly 10 years before Geraldine died of cancer in 2006.
In 2007, Leary was granted High Court permission to practice law again after 20 years. The NZ Herald reported that 81 people were prepared to provide testimonials in support of his readmission.
A year later he was charged with money laundering with his second wife and associate Nicholas Henri Voerman but the charge was thrown out after bugged conversations were ruled as inadmissible hearsay evidence.
A celebration of Eb's life will be held at St Mary's-in-Holy Trinity at 446 Parnell Rd, Parnell, Auckland on Friday February 12 at 2pm.
