About Carlo D'Angelo
Criminal Defense Attorney · Tyler, Texas
If you are searching for an experienced criminal defense lawyer in East Texas, it is important to evaluate several key factors, such as courtroom experience, familiarity with Smith County and surrounding courts, and a history of handling serious criminal charges. While no attorney can guarantee results or claim to be the “best” in every situation, many clients prioritize lawyers with proven experience, great reviews, strong reputations, and a consistent record of defending complex cases across East Texas.
Tyler Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer Carlo D'Angelo has defended thousands of men and women accused of crimes in Texas and Florida since 1997. From first-offense DWI to murder, from state courthouses in East Texas to federal courtrooms across the country — Carlo brings 28 years of trial experience to every case.
A former law school professor at St. Thomas University School of Law, Carlo doesn't just know the law — he's taught it. He has published three law review articles, testified before the U.S. Treasury on cryptocurrency regulation, and served as a legal analyst for CBS News, MSNBC, FOX News, ABC News, and Rolling Stone.
Carlo founded D'Angelo Legal as a solo practice because he believes criminal defense is personal. Every client gets his direct attention and an aggressive defense strategy built from the ground up.
Carlo D’Angelo
Federal & State Criminal Defense Attorney
Carlo D’Angelo is a Texas criminal defense attorney whose practice focuses on complex state and federal criminal matters, including federal investigations, indictments, appeals, financial crimes, cryptocurrency-related investigations, and digital-asset forfeiture.
He has practiced law since 1997 and has represented clients in state and federal criminal cases in Florida and Texas. Since 2008, he has practiced through Carlo D’Angelo, PC in Tyler, Texas, handling state and federal criminal defense matters at the trial and appellate levels.
D’Angelo’s background is unusual among criminal defense lawyers. In addition to decades of courtroom experience, he is a former law professor, published legal scholar, and longtime student of emerging technologies and their intersection with criminal law.
Today, his practice increasingly includes matters involving cryptocurrency, blockchain evidence, digital assets, federal asset seizure, forfeiture, and technology-driven financial investigations.
Federal Criminal Defense Experience
Carlo D’Angelo represents individuals facing serious federal criminal investigations and prosecutions.
His federal practice includes matters involving:
Federal investigations and pre-indictment representation
Grand jury proceedings
Federal search and seizure
Drug conspiracy and controlled-substance offenses
Wire fraud and financial crimes
Cryptocurrency and digital-asset investigations
Asset seizure and forfeiture
Federal trial litigation
Federal criminal appeals
D’Angelo is admitted to practice before federal courts throughout Texas as well as the federal appellate courts for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits. His admissions include the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, Western, and Southern Districts of Texas, the Southern District of Florida, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Cryptocurrency, Blockchain & Digital-Asset Matters
D’Angelo has developed a particular focus on the intersection of criminal law and digital assets.
His work includes matters involving:
Cryptocurrency seizure
Frozen exchange accounts
Federal asset forfeiture
Blockchain transaction evidence
Cryptocurrency fraud investigations
Money laundering allegations involving digital assets
Web3 and blockchain businesses
Government tracing of digital assets
Emerging technology and criminal liability
His experience in this area extends beyond litigation. His professional background also includes work as a Web3 strategic advisor, public speaking on cryptocurrency crime, and hosting discussions devoted to blockchain and cryptocurrency law.
In 2022, D’Angelo spoke at NFT.NYC on “The Growing Threat That Crypto Criminal Enterprises Pose to NFTs.” He was also peer-nominated at NFT.NYC for “Most Expert Handling of the Law and NFTs.” From 2022 through 2023, he hosted Lex Line on RugRadio.FM, a weekly program discussing developments in Web3, blockchain, and cryptocurrency law.
Former Law Professor
D’Angelo taught legal research and writing at St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens, Florida.
He served as an Adjunct Instructor from 2004 to 2006 and as an Assistant Professor of Legal Research and Writing from 2006 to 2008.
That academic background continues to influence his approach to complex criminal cases: identifying the governing law, understanding the evidentiary record, and reducing complicated factual and legal issues to the arguments that matter most.
Published Legal Scholarship
Carlo D’Angelo has written about criminal law, technology, the legal profession, and digital assets for more than two decades.
His publications include:
Digital Asset Crime: Are We Still Early?
Texas Bar Journal, May 2023
Co-authored with Carlos Garcia.
Overseas Legal Outsourcing and the American Legal Profession: Friend or “Flattener”?
14 Texas Wesleyan Law Review 167 (2008).
The Snoop Doggy Dogg Trial: A Look at How Computer Animation Will Impact Litigation in the Next Century
32 University of San Francisco Law Review 561 (1998).
The Impact of United States v. Lopez Upon Selected Firearms Provisions of Title 18 U.S.C. § 922
8 St. Thomas Law Review 571 (1996).
His scholarship reflects a longstanding interest in how new technology changes criminal investigations, litigation, evidence, and the practice of law.
Education
D’Angelo earned his law degree from St. Thomas University School of Law in 1997.
While in law school, he served on the Executive Editorial Board of the St. Thomas Law Review, was Editor-in-Chief of Opinio Juris, served as a Dean’s Fellow in Torts, received the Book Award in Juvenile Law, and was named to the Dean’s List multiple semesters.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Florida Atlantic University in 1994.
Bar & Federal Court Admissions
Carlo D’Angelo is admitted to:
The Florida Bar
State Bar of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Professional Service
D’Angelo’s professional service has included membership in the Honorable T. John Ward Inn of Court in the Eastern District of Texas, service as President of the Wood County Bar Association, and service on a Magistrate Judge Retention Committee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
A Practice Built for Complex Cases
Federal criminal cases increasingly involve far more than traditional police reports and witness testimony.
Modern investigations may involve encrypted communications, cryptocurrency wallets, blockchain analytics, exchange records, financial tracing, artificial intelligence, digital devices, and enormous quantities of electronic evidence.
Carlo D’Angelo’s practice combines decades of criminal-defense experience with a longstanding focus on technology and emerging forms of evidence.
For individuals facing a federal investigation, indictment, cryptocurrency seizure, or other serious criminal matter, the objective is straightforward: understand the government’s case early, identify the legal and evidentiary weaknesses, and build the defense before critical opportunities are lost.
Carlo D’Angelo, PC
100 East Ferguson, Suite 1210
Tyler, Texas 75702
903-595-6776
In His Own Words
"My story starts with music, not law. During law school, I was a professional jazz singer — Frank Sinatra standards, the Great American Songbook. One night, a prominent Miami criminal defense lawyer walked up to the piano, introduced himself, and offered me an internship on the spot. That was my crash course into high-stakes criminal defense. I was hooked from day one."
"My very first criminal jury trial in Texas was something straight out of My Cousin Vinny. I was defending a client charged with cattle rustling. I walked in with my New York accent, my Italian suit, and my Italian shoes. I looked at the jury and told them flat out: 'I don't know the difference between a cow and a steer, but I do know that man is not guilty.' I never tried to be someone I wasn't — and juries responded to that authenticity."
“After twenty-eight years of practice — from the Broward County Public Defender's Office to federal courtrooms across the country — I was named a Texas Super Lawyer in Criminal Law for 2025–2026. That recognition meant a great deal to me, not because of the title itself, but because it validated a career built on showing up, doing the work, and genuinely caring about my clients."
Voyage Dallas Magazine, March 2026
Credentials & Experience
28 years of criminal trial experience in state and federal courts
Former law school professor — St. Thomas University School of Law
National media coverage— CBS, MSNBC, FOX, ABC, Rolling Stone
Published legal scholar — three law review articles
Testified before U.S. Treasury on cryptocurrency regulation
Licensed in Texas and Florida
Criminal appeals and post-conviction writs
Available 24/7 for new clients