He was 47.

Schwartzberg wasn't far from his home in St. Petersburg when he had the attack in the 6400 block of 8th Avenue North at 10:48 p.m., St. Petersburg police said. His 2004 Lincoln Town Car slowly veered off the road and stopped after bumping a wooden telephone pole.

Among Schwartzberg's more high-profile clients was Brandon Scott Ware, who was accused of forcing his way into an elderly couple's apartment, beating the wife and killing the husband with the husband's own gun.

He also defended Franklin Floyd, now on death row for killing an 18-year-old exotic dancer whose body was found off Interstate 275 six years later. Another client was Kenneth Dessaure, who fatally cut and slashed 53 times his neighbor, a nursing assistant.

Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, who often did battle with Schwartzberg in court, said Schwartzberg was assigned these cases because he was on a list of court- appointed lawyers and because judges thought he did a good job.

``It's a tragic loss. It really is,'' Bartlett said. ``He tried a lot of high-profile cases and never complained at all. ... He earned a lot of respect from other lawyers, both prosecutors and defense lawyers,'' Bartlett said.

In recent years, Schwartzberg tipped the scale at more than 400 pounds. Seven years ago, after losing more than 150 pounds with the now-banned diet drug Fen-Phen, he started an exercise program and suffered a heart attack, but recovered, said his trial partner, Richard Watts.

Then, last April, Schwartzberg underwent gastric bypass surgery, hired a personal trainer and undertook another strict regimen of diet and exercise, dropping 167 pounds, Watts said.

Schwartzberg had a keen legal mind and a near-photographic memory, Watts said.

That ability also enabled him also to excel in his avocation, musical theater, where he was known regionwide for his mastery of the lead role of Tevye in ``Fiddler on the Roof,'' which he played in several regional theater productions. More than once he took over for injured or ailing lead actors at the last minute, barely missing a line, said St. Petersburg Little Theater director Murray Mintz.

He was on his way home from a successful rehearsal Wednesday night for another lead role, in the Little Theater's next production, ``A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,'' Mintz said, when the heart attack killed him.

He is survived by his wife and five stepchildren. Schwartzberg will be buried in Toledo, Ohio. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Jan. 14 at the county's criminal justice complex.

Pinellas Bureau Chief Rick Barry contributed to this report. Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 823-3303.