Chicago attorney Steven A. Miller is a self-confessed "challenge junkie."

In light of his desire to solve cases which have stymied others, and his track record of doing just that, his latest assignment is a natural: taking on organized crime in a local union.

Miller was appointed Aug. 31 by U.S. District judge Robert W, Gettleman to investigate union officials from the Construction & General Laborer's District Council of Chicago and Vicinity, and to ferret out ties to organized crime. He received the appointment as part of a consent decree reached in a racketeering lawsuit against the Council, which is affiliated with the Laborers' International Union of North America.

The national union and the federal government brought suit against the Council as part of a nationwide effort to eliminate the influence of organized crime on union affairs. Acting as adjudications officer, former Illinois Supreme Court justice Seymour F. Simon will hear charges brought by Miller, and will decide what if any sanctions to impose.

It's a scenario that could fit nicely into one of many crime novels Miller read while growing up, or into one of the American history books he enjoys in his spare time.

"I've always been fascinated with crime and law enforcement," he said in an interview at his Loop office Thursday afternoon. "I have a deep respect for detectives and people that can put complicated cases together."

An Evanston native whose father also was an attorney, Miller said be made his way into the legal profession for "lack of an alternative''

"My father was a lawyer, it seemed interesting, and nothing else pulled me in another direction," he said.

After attending Washington University in St. Louis for his undergraduate degree, Miller decided to enter law school there as well. He applied for an internship with the U.S. attorney's office in the summer of 1978 on what he called a whim, and received it. The office then hired him as an assistant U.S. attorney after graduation that same year,

What would follow was 18 years in a job that Miller not only loved, but also was one that gained him notoriety as Chicago's guru of solving the unsolvable. Miller is known for resurrecting the case of missing candy fortune heiress Helen Vorhees Brach, who disappeared in 1977. Ms five-year investigation led to the conviction and life sentence in 1995 of Richard Bailey for procuring her murder. A 1994 Vanity Fair article detailed his work in obtaining the 1989 indictment of Deborah Hartmann, charged with insurance fraud for collecting $800,000 after the murder of her wealthy husband several years earlier.

Miller, 46, worked on civil matters for the office for five years before deciding to try the criminal side, in which he had always had an interest. He eventually rose to the position of chief of the office's Special Prosecutions Section.

"I decided I would try the criminal side for a couple of years, and then I had so much fun on the criminal side I stayed for another 13 years," said Miller. "Every day for 18 years I lofted forward to going to work. I found it deeply emotionally satisfying to help bring a measure of justice to people who had been grievously injured, so there was a psychic income to that job which was really very important."

Hanging on the wall in Miller's office are various awards, and a plaque with a golden gavel, He calls the latter his favorite, as it was given to him by the family of Gail Maher.

A great lawyer who believed, fought, and won a great justice for our family," the plaque reads. "Gail's life did matter in this world. We will forever be grateful''

The Maher case involved Miller's prosecution of Thomas York, and ex-Chicago police officer convicted of murdering his wife and business partner for insurance proceeds, said Miller.

Miller said he solved many cases by using his intuition as a starting point.

"What I excelled at was having a detective's intuition as to how things must have happened, based on very scanty evidence, Once I knew how it must have happened, I knew how to direct the investigation to see whether the evidence was there to validate my impression," he said.

Miller began to realize that the unsolved-murder cases he looked into often had a common element; a complicated financial aspect which local law enforcement had never focused on, for lack of either training or resources.

"They went for confessions, eyewitnesses, forensics, the things which usually put murders together, and none of those things were present in the Helen Brach case or the other cases," said Miller. "Rather than looking at these cases in a linear fashion, I kind of looked at them from right angles, ... I would conduct these mammoth financial investigations, and what I came to realize is that you follow the fraud, solve the murder."

Miller's formula proved successful, but after the Brach case he decided to go into private practice.

"All I had to look forward to was going back to my supervisory responsibilities, which, although satisfying, was not exhilarating. I'm a challenge junkie, so I needed another challenge," said Miller,

Miller said he has found private Practice as a partner at Sachnoff  & Weaver even more interesting

"The work is much more diverse,  much more challenging," he said.

Miller concentrates in complex litigation, doing investigations for companies and white collar criminal defense work.

Miller said he is just now beginning work On his most recent assignment. He has had existence with Prosecuting organized crime in the past, and was responsible for breaking up a Greek arson-for-profit ring among others during his time with the U.S. attorney's office.