Gene is one of the founding partners of Placidi, Parini, Grasinger & Page. He is a skilled attorney with decades of experience in all matters of the law. While he has a background in different areas of the law, Gene’s current areas of focus are criminal defense and personal injury. Gene earned his Juris Doctorate from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law in Ohio in 1979.
He is an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh and Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie, Pennsylvania.Along with his desire to help people, Gene’s clients also benefit from his wealth of trial experience in civil and criminal litigation.
“I work as diligently as possible to achieve my client’s objectives. I am very empathetic to my clients’ plight whether they have been charged criminally or are injured in an accident.“
In 2001, Gene founded Melaragno & Placidi in Erie with attorney John C. Melaragno. They handled a broad range of cases including bankruptcy, criminal law, real estate and personal injury. The firm expanded its personal injury practice with the addition of personal injury litigator Matt Parini in 2015.During his legal career, Gene has appeared on CBS, ABC and FOX News, as well as The Geraldo Rivera Show andDateline NBC.
He has several high-profile cases to his name, including the Erie pizza bomber case that captivated the nation. The case was the subject of a multipart documentary on Netflix called “Evil Genius.” It was also featured in the New York Times, Washington Post and other newspapers across the country.
Gene handles a wide variety of cases, but he is especially passionate about those in which clients appear to have been falsely accused. No matter the size or type of case, he strives to treat all his clients with respect and dignity. Gene also routinely takes on court-appointed cases for indigent clients.
“My upbringing clearly influenced my decision to represent the underdog.“
Gene has worked in the Erie City Solicitor’s Office for the late honorable Mayor Louis J. Tullio. He has been serving the Erie community for over 30 years and continues to remain dedicated to the city he calls home.
Gene was inspired to become a criminal defense lawyer from a young age after seeing the movie version of “To Kill a Mockingbird”as a child. He grew up in the heart of little Italy inErie in a blue-collar family that understood the value of hard work, dedication and honesty.
Gene is a passionate baseball fan. He enjoys taking annual baseball trips with a group of lifelong friends who hope to see a game in all 30 baseball stadiums in North America.
