‘Impossible to forget’ lawyer, F. Stanton Ackerman dies at 79
F. Stanton Ackerman, an Albany defense attorney who practiced law in the Capital Region for more than 50 years and was active in area sports, died Sunday surrounded by family. He was 79.
Born in Mckeesport, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh, Ackerman – known as “Fred” – graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and entered the Army in 1960 and served at Fort Knox.
Ackerman enrolled in 1963 at Albany Law School and joined the bar in 1967. Ackerman began at the firm of Ungerman and Harris which, became Ungerman and Ackerman and eventually, Ackerman, Wachs and dearmas.
“Fred was a great mentor and even more so a great friend,” said Albany lawyer Marie Beckford, who worked at Ackerman’s firm. “You knew you could call Fred with any issue and he would give you every assurance that he would make it OK. He was never short on words, and any problem was solved with a dictation that was at least two to three pages. I will miss listening to his stories at lunch and hearing his excitement about whatever new case he was working on, it was always a big deal.”
Albany defense attorney Cheryl Coleman said when she was an Albany County prosecutor she often battled Ackerman in court. Ackerman’s passing leaves a hole in the character of the area’s legal community.
Coleman said Ackerman, whom she called Freddy, was “no shrinking violet” and did not hesitate to battle judges aggressively if the need arose on behalf of a client.
“Whether you loved him or whether you hated him or anything in between, there was no denying the fact that he was a huge personality,” Coleman said. “He was impossible to ignore, impossible to forget.”
Ashley Cichetti, a secretary for Ackerman, said he loved to work and needed more than one secretary.
“I will miss Fred coming into the office and slamming his door loud enough to make sure everyone knew ‘Fred’s here’ and being Fred’s audience when he was on the phone with an adversary,” she said.
“I truly admired his selflessness and his enthusiasm for practicing law. I will miss hearing his stories and his many wise words,” said Lela Perrott, another Ackerman secretary.
Ackerman’s high-profile cases included Scott Chaplin, who was convicted in 2012 of the 1994 murder of Rosemary Crosier, a 47-year-old overnight aide and counselor in a residential facility for the developmentally disabled in Troy.
Ackerman taught law at Hudson Valley Community College. He was an avid golfer, a huge sports fan who rooted hard for Pittsburgh sports teams and would let you know if they beat your team of choice.
Ackerman coached the basketball team at the former Milne High School at the University at Albany and was an umpire for the Albany Babe Ruth league.
He is survived by his wife Harriet; daughters Sheri Townsend, Pamela Ackerman-garcia and Julie Safranko; and brother Stuart, in addition to his several grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.