On January 1, Rocco Totino merged his New York City-based accounting firm, Pustorino, Puglisi & Co., LLP, with Long Island accounting and professional services firm Grassi & Co. Grassi & Co. custom-tailors its services to meet the ever-changing needs of a multitude of industries.

 

On January 1, Rocco Totino merged his New York City-based accounting firm, Pustorino, Puglisi & Co., LLP, with Long Island accounting and professional services firm Grassi & Co. Grassi & Co. custom-tailors its services to meet the ever-changing needs of a multitude of industries.

“This merger represents a new chapter in Grassi & Co.’s story,” said Mr. Grassi. “Joining together two firms who share the same vision of growth and excellence is a testament to the foundation that our company is built upon.”

 

New York Life Insurance Company named Robert H. Petrocelli Jr. as Council Vice President. The honor is bestowed annually on the New York Life agent with the second-highest performance achievements in the company. As Council Vice President, Mr. Petrocelli is a leader of the company’s elite national field force comprising 11,900 licensed New York Life agents.

 

“Reaching the Council Vice President distinction is an impressive achievement and recognizes Bob as one of company’s finest agents whose dedicated service practices are unparalleled,” said Mark W. Pfaff, Executive Vice President. “All of us in the New York Life family are proud of his outstanding accomplishment.”

 

Daniel K. Cantor, managing member and chief compliance officer for CK Advisors LLC in New York City, received the 2011 John N. Wilder Award from the University of Rochester’s School of Arts, Sciences and Engineering. The award, named for the first president of the Board of Trustees, honors those whose commitment to build a greater University inspires others.

 

Mr. Cantor co-founded CK Advisors in 2006 after 20 years with the firm of Stein, Roe & Farnham, where he advanced to senior vice president and senior portfolio manager. An expert in the financial field who is interviewed frequently by national media, Cantor earned an MBA with a concentration in finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with high distinction in 1985. He received a degree in Economics from the University of Rochester in 1981.

 

Elizabeth Spingarn Stanton was elected to the Board of Overseers of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City, one of the nation’s premier centers for medical research and education, and clinical investigation.

 

Ms. Stanton, who graduated from Barnard College in 1992, first became interested in not-for-profit causes during her high school years, volunteering at a school for children with autism, an elder care facility, and the Helen Keller Center for the Deaf and Blind. After college, she worked in the not-for-profit field, in public relations and event planning, for Homes for the Homeless and Columbia College. Ms. Stanton was a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House in New York, where she wrote a newsletter and worked with children who were undergoing treatment as well as their families.

 

Winston & Strawn LLP has announced the hiring of Alfred Fabricant as a partner to its New York office. Mr. Fabricant brings more than 30 years of litigation experience to the firm’s Intellectual Property group.

 

An experienced trial lawyer, his practice focuses on patent, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, entertainment, antitrust, and other commercial litigation matters. On behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, Mr. Fabricant has tried cases to verdict as first chair in a wide variety of technical disciplines, including digital and analog electronics, robotics, computer software, pharmaceutical, and business method patents.

 

The firm’s managing partner, Thomas Fitzgerald, said: “We welcome the remarkable skills and savvy that Fred brings to the entire firm. His reputation and know-how are an outstanding fit for the practice and the firm’s global platform.”

 

Mr. Fabricant, 58, received his J.D., with highest distinction, from the John Marshall Law School in 1978, and his B.A. in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Miami.