Tag:

Legal Ethics

Suffolk MA
Police & Fire
Mother Of 4 Dead Babies Found In South Boston Freezer Will Not Face Charges, DA Decides Mother Of 4 Dead Babies Found In South Boston Freezer Will Not Face Charges, DA Decides
Mother Of 4 Dead Babies Found In South Boston Freezer Will Not Face Charges, DA Decides The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said it will not file charges against a woman who was found to have stashed the bodies of four of her babies inside her freezer in South Boston.  The bodies of two boys and two girls were found inside a shoebox, wrapped in tin foil, and stored in a freezer at an apartment at 838 East Broadway on November 17, 2022. After more than a year and a half long investigation, police have been unable to determine when they were born, when they died, or how long they had been frozen, DA Kevin Hayden said on Tuesday, April 30.  Hayden said he coul…

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by Josh Lanier
Suffolk NY
News
Former Stony Brook Attorney Stole Nearly $1M From Clients, DA Says Former Stony Brook Attorney Stole Nearly $1M From Clients, DA Says
Former Stony Brook Attorney Stole Nearly $1M From Clients, DA Says A former New York attorney already accused of stealing more than $425,000 from two of his clients is now charged with pocketing even more money from a third client. Long Island resident Douglas Valente, age 56, was arraigned on one count of grand larceny in Suffolk County Court on Friday morning, Feb. 3. Earlier Report: Long Island Attorney Accused Of Stealing $425K From 2 Clients Prosecutors said between May 2021 and September 2022, Valente, who formerly served as the principal attorney at the Valente Law Group in Stony Brook, stole nearly $400,000 from a client who had sold a home …

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by Michael Mashburn
Nassau
News
Report Outlines Misconduct By Former Long Island Prosecutor Report Outlines Misconduct By Former Long Island Prosecutor
Report Outlines Misconduct By Former Long Island Prosecutor A multi-year investigation has found that a homicide prosecutor failed to turn over documents in at least 16 cases, including murder trials, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini. The investigation into former Assistant District Attorney Glenn Kurtzrock was conducted by the Conviction Integrity Bureau and New York Law School Post-Conviction Innocence Clinic.  “This is a historic report, and it shows our commitment not just to righting any past injustices made by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, but to making sure that kind of misconduct never occur…

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by Kathy Reakes
Nassau
News
Long Island Attorney Admits To Scheme To Defraud Woman, Must Pay $1M In Restitution Long Island Attorney Admits To Scheme To Defraud Woman, Must Pay $1M In Restitution
Long Island Attorney Admits To Scheme To Defraud Woman, Must Pay $1M In Restitution A Long Island attorney admitted to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the beneficiary of an estate from her inheritance from a wrongful death suit. Vincent J. Trimarco, Jr., of Smithtown, who has been licensed to practice in the state of New York since 1997, pleaded guilty at federal court in Central Islip on Tuesday, Oct. 6. When sentenced, the 51-year-old Trimarco faces up to 20 years in prison. As a part of his plea agreement with the government, Trimarco agreed to pay more than $1 million in restitution. “Trimarco defrauded a young girl of …

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by Joe Lombardi
Englewood
Police & Fire
NJ Supreme Court Suspends Englewood Judge Without Pay For Cursing At Staff, Favoring Defendant NJ Supreme Court Suspends Englewood Judge Without Pay For Cursing At Staff, Favoring Defendant
NJ Supreme Court Suspends Englewood Judge Without Pay For Cursing At Staff, Favoring Defendant An Englewood Municipal Court judge bypassed courtroom procedure, cursed at a staffer and committed other violations that make her “a serious harm to the administration of justice,” a state judicial panel charged. As a result, the New Jersey Supreme Court suspended Aishaah Rasul, 64, without pay on Wednesday pending the results of an ethics hearing. The complaint stems from a case in which a woman claimed two others assaulted her. Rasul acquitted one defendant after a trial while not issuing a finding for the other – apparently so that woman’s entry in the state’s drug court program wouldn’…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Essex NJ
Police & Fire
Newark Lawyer Made Famous In 'American Gangster' Admits Stealing $20K Newark Lawyer Made Famous In 'American Gangster' Admits Stealing $20K
Newark Lawyer Made Famous In 'American Gangster' Admits Stealing $20K A lawyer from Bloomfield who once ran a Newark law firm admitted he stole $20,000 from clients, the state Attorney General's office said.  Richard Roberts, 81, pleaded guilty to perjury and failure to make required disposition of property during a trial this week in Morris County Superior Court. His former partner Gerald Saluti was testifying Tuesday when Roberts entered his plea.  Roberts admitted taking the money from the firm's trust account in order to make alimony payments. He now faces up to 364 days in jail and must surrender his law license when he's sentenced in August.&n…

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by Paul Milo
Southwest Dutchess
News
Poughkeepsie Attorney Resigns, Disbarred Amid Misconduct Allegations Poughkeepsie Attorney Resigns, Disbarred Amid Misconduct Allegations
Poughkeepsie Attorney Resigns, Disbarred Amid Misconduct Allegations An area attorney who was suspended last year has been disbarred by the state Supreme Court after offering his resignation. Michael R. Varble of Poughkeepsie was suspended on July 9, 2018, following accusations that he kept more than $32,000 in client fees who ceased doing business with his firm, according to court documents. In court documents issued on Thursday, Varble acknowledged charges of several cases of professional misconduct including failure to communicate with clients, neglect, and failure to return unearned fees. Following his suspension last year, Varble failed to co…

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by Kathy Reakes
Garfield-Lodi
Police & Fire
Suspended Garfield Lawyer Pocketed $90,000 Of Clients' Money For Himself, Authorities Charge Suspended Garfield Lawyer Pocketed $90,000 Of Clients' Money For Himself, Authorities Charge
Suspended Garfield Lawyer Pocketed $90,000 Of Clients' Money For Himself, Authorities Charge A Garfield attorney swiped $90,000 from two clients in real estate deals while he suspended from practicing law, said authorities who arrested him. Alfred Ramos, 38, “received the funds into his attorney’s trust account and then, instead of forwarding them to his clients, used them for his own purposes,” Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said. Ramos was under suspension at the time, under a July 3, 2018 order of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Calo said. He’s scheduled for a Feb. 13 first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court on two counts of misapplication of entrusted f…

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by Jerry DeMarco
White Plains
News
Westchester Attorney Admits Attempt To Embezzle From Dead Man's Estate Westchester Attorney Admits Attempt To Embezzle From Dead Man's Estate
Westchester Attorney Admits Attempt To Embezzle From Dead Man's Estate A prominent Westchester attorney known for representing prominent Republican politicians has admitted to embezzling from the estate of a dead man. Rye resident Guy Parisi, 71, pleaded guilty on Thursday in White Plains federal court to one count of mail fraud for stealing from the estate of a former Mount Vernon resident. Parisi was appointed the administrator of the estate in April 2017, where he was tasked with collecting the assets of the estate. As an administrator, Parisi had a fiduciary duty to the estate and to the decedent’s son, who was the sole beneficiary of his father’s will. A…

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by Zak Failla
Yorktown
News
Ex-Fairfield County Attorney Sentenced For Stealing Nearly $2M From Clients, Family, Friends Ex-Fairfield County Attorney Sentenced For Stealing Nearly $2M From Clients, Family, Friends
Ex-Fairfield County Attorney Sentenced For Stealing Nearly $2M From Clients, Family, Friends A 62-year-old former attorney in Fairfield County is going to spend more than six years behind bars for stealing nearly $2 million from clients, friends and family members. Thomas Murtha who previously had a law office in Bridgeport has been sentenced to 78 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud. He must also pay $1,994,467.15 in restitution. Beginning in November 2011, through April 2017, Murtha stole the money from 20 individuals, including approximately $516,000 from a person with mental health issues. As pa…

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by Zak Failla
Paramus
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Paramus Lawyer Pocketed Client's $275,000, Lied To Detectives Prosecutor: Paramus Lawyer Pocketed Client's $275,000, Lied To Detectives
Prosecutor: Paramus Lawyer Pocketed Client's $275,000, Lied To Detectives PARAMUS, N.J. – A Paramus attorney pocketed $275,000 of a client’s money for himself, then lied about it to  investigators, said authorities who arrested him. Paul A. Dykstra, 69, banked the funds from a property sale instead of forwarding them to the client, “then used them for his own purposes,” Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said. “In an effort to hinder the investigation, [Dykstra] provided the client and detectives with false information regarding the transaction and disbursement of funds due,” the prosecutor said. Dykstra was charged with misapplication of entrusted fund…

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by Jerry DeMarco