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NEW FILINGS,
HEARING SCHEDULES AND CLERK'S OFFICE Recent Disciplinary Decisions from Supreme Court | Recently Filed Complaints and Reports | Announcements | Schedule of Hearings | Clerk’s Office Services ANNOUNCEMENT OF DISCIPLINARY DECISIONS Tuesday, November 18, 2003 10:00 P.M. The Supreme Court of Illinois on Friday November 14, 2003 and on Monday November 17, 2003 announced the filing of disciplinary orders involving a number of licensed lawyers. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law. Discipline ranged from reprimand to disbarment. The name of each disciplined lawyer, the address at which the lawyer last practiced, and a brief summary of the misconduct that led to the sanction, can be found in the attached material. The announcement of the orders may be reviewed at the Supreme Court of Illinois website: www.state.il.us/court. The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), an Illinois Supreme Court agency, investigates alleged wrongdoing by Illinois attorneys, holds hearings on specific charges, and recommends discipline where warranted. The Supreme Court is, however, the only authority that can discipline lawyers for misconduct. The Supreme Court generally announces lawyer sanction orders during each formal term of Court. The Court convenes in term every January, March, May, September and November. There are approximately 80,000 attorneys in Illinois. A yearly fee of $229 is imposed on Illinois lawyers and helps to fund the ARDC. There are no tax dollars used to support the disciplinary system. The ARDC is
composed of seven members, three of whom are non-lawyers.
Attorney Benedict Schwarz II is the Commission Chairman.
The ARDC Administrator is Mary Robinson.
For additional information concerning these disciplinary orders contact:
James J. Grogan, Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission,
Chicago. 312-565-2600 or 1-800-826-8625 In re
DANIEL A. CELSKE, Attorney
Number 6202438 File
Information: M. R.19003, 02 CH 110 Mr. Celske, who was licensed in 1989, was disbarred on consent. He converted $3,265 in funds that he received from a bankruptcy trustee, misappropriated a $5,077 income tax refund that he was to hold in escrow for a client, neglected six personal injury cases, and also failed to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation. In
re MARSHALL RAY CRAWFORD, Attorney Number 3124959 File
Information: M.R. 18937, 03 RC 1510
Mr. Crawford was licensed in Indiana in 1968 and in Illinois in 1979. The Supreme Court of Indiana accepted his resignation after he acknowledged that he had falsified evidence, offered false evidence, and made a false statement of material fact in a disciplinary proceeding. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him until such time as he is reinstated to the practice of law in Indiana.
In
re WILLIAM R. FIX, Attorney Number 3124320 File
Information: M.R. 18938, 03 RC 1509
Mr. Fix was licensed in Illinois in 1979 and in Wyoming in 1981. He was reprimanded in Wyoming for neglecting several client matters. Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him. In re EDMUND JOSEPH
FUERTGES, Attorney
Number 3122328 File
Information M. R. 19013, 03 CH 3
Mr.
Fuertges, who was licensed in 1978, was disbarred on consent. He
pled guilty to federal bank fraud charges. He had engaged in a
check-kiting scheme in which he defrauded two banks by
circulating worthless checks in accounts he held at the banks,
fraudulently obtaining over $150,000 from the banks.
In
re MARIBEL JESSIE GUZMAN, Attorney
Number 6226789 File
information: M.R. 18943, 03 SH 15
Ms. Guzman, who was licensed to practice in 1995, was censured.
While acting as an assistant state's attorney, she sent a letter
to two people involved in a neighborhood dispute. The letter
contained threats to institute charges that she knew or
reasonably should have known were not supported by probable
cause and served merely to harass or maliciously injure the
recipients of the letter.
In
re ROBERT G. HERSHENHORN, Attorney Number 1201549 File Number: M.R. 18972, 02 CH 83
Mr. Hershenhorn, who was licensed in 1969, was disbarred upon
consent. He pled guilty to federal bank fraud charges, stemming
from his involvement in a check-kiting scheme that resulted in a
civil judgment against him for over $450,000.
In
re DEBORAH SUE HIRSCHFELD, Attorney Number 6200437 File
Number: M.R. 18971, 01 CH 115
Ms. Hirschfeld, who was
licensed in 1989, was suspended for six months, with the
suspension stayed after thirty days by one year of probation
subject to conditions. She
mismanaged $4,615 in settlement funds from a personal injury
case. She also
failed to register and pay her annual lawyer registration fee in
a timely manner.
In re SHERMAN
FREDERICK JAFFE, Attorney Number 1320459 File
Information: M.R. 19086, 03 DC1011
Mr. Jaffe, who was licensed in 1971, was disbarred on consent. He was convicted in federal court for participating in a scheme to defraud lenders by purchasing properties at fraudulently inflated prices and inducing lenders to finance the purchases based on false information. Mr. Jaffe and other participants in the scheme received portions of the loan proceeds as compensation for their participation.
In
re GERALD PRESTON KONOHIA, Attorney Number 6209251 File
Information: M.R. 18936, 03 RC 1508
Mr. Konohia was licensed in Illinois in 1992 and in South
Carolina in 1995. He was suspended for 60 days in South Carolina
after he allowed a paralegal to close a real estate transaction
without his supervision on two occasions, drew checks on a trust
account that were dishonored for insufficient funds, disbursed
disputed funds to a lienholder contrary to his client’s
instructions, delayed a real estate closing without good cause,
and filed suit in the wrong forum two years after he was
retained in the representation. The Supreme Court of Illinois
imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for 60 days.
In
re DEAN JOSEPH KONRARDY, Attorney Number 6278801 File
Information: M.R. 18950, 03 RC 1511
Mr. Konrardy was licensed in
Iowa in 1984 and in Illinois in 2002. The Iowa Supreme Court
reprimanded him for not filing a timely notice of exceptions in
a case and for engaging in a conflict of interest in connection
with a dissolution of marriage proceeding. The Illinois Supreme
Court reprimanded him as reciprocal discipline.
In
re THOMAS EDWIN LEMNA, Attorney Number 6192006 File
Information: M.R. 18913, 02 SH 16 Mr. Lemna, who was licensed in 1985, was suspended for 45 days. He unlawfully resisted arrest after an alleged domestic battery. Later, he made a threat to shoot a police officer, for which he was convicted of disorderly conduct, and he battered a man by striking him on the face.
In
re PHILLIP CHARLES LEVATINO, Attorney Number 1627287 File
Number: M.R. 19050, 03 CH 7
Mr. Levatino, who was licensed in 1977, was censured and required to complete a seminar offered by the Illinois Professional Responsibility Institute within one year of the date of discipline. He neglected a civil matter resulting in a $90,836.26 default judgment being entered against his client.
In
re DEREK LEONARD MANDEL, Attorney Number 6212320 File
Information: M.R. 19028, 03 RC 1513
Mr. Mandel was licensed in
Indiana in 1987 and in Illinois in 1993. The Indiana Supreme
Court reprimanded him for engaging in travel expense fraud by
converting for personal use airline tickets that had been issued
to him for business purposes. The Illinois Supreme Court
censured him as reciprocal discipline.
In
re JOHN THOMAS MARCH, Attorney Number 6193272 File
Information: M.R.
19027; 03 RC 1512
Mr. March was licensed in Illinois in 1986 and in
Tennessee in 1995. The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended him for
two years for commingling approximately $24,000 in client funds
in order to avoid sharing a portion of his fee with his
employer. He also
failed to file income tax returns for four years. The Illinois
Supreme Court suspended him for two years as reciprocal
discipline.
In
re DAVID ARNOLD MILKS, Attorney
Number 1908464 File
Information: M.R. 18895, 99 CH 20
Mr. Milks, who was licensed in 1977, was suspended for two years. He solicited personal injury cases by compensating numerous non-lawyers for referrals of those cases. He also neglected a client matter and failed to maintain certain required financial records relating to his law practice.
In
re MAUREEN ANN MORIARTY, Attorney Number 6231151 File
Information: M.R. 18947, 02 CH 114
Ms. Moriarty, who was
licensed in 1996, was suspended for six months and until further
order of Court. She
neglected a probate matter, failed to communicate with her
client, and did not cooperate with the disciplinary
investigation. She did not participate in the disciplinary
proceedings.
In
re JONATHAN VINCENT NALL, Attorney Number 6270334 File Information M.R. 18952, 03 CH 16 Mr. Nall, who was licensed in 1999, was suspended for six months. He pled guilty to one count of aggravated DUI and was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. While driving a car when intoxicated, he struck and killed a pedestrian in DeKalb, Illinois.
In
re HARRY MARSHALL SCHAFFNER, File
Information M.R. 19014, 00 CH 83
Mr.
Schaffner, who was licensed in 1967, was disbarred on consent.
He engaged in a sexual relationship with a client while
representing the client in her dissolution of marriage
proceeding. In an unrelated matter, he was found guilty of
misdemeanor assault and battery and was sentenced to eighteen
months probation, psychotherapy, 60 hours of community service
and was ordered to pay a $750 fine, and he also pled guilty to a
DUI charge.
In
re RICHARD M. SIMON, Attorney Number 6200451 File
Information: M.R. 18940, 02 SH 62
Mr. Simon, who was licensed in 1989, was disbarred for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. After the Supreme Court of Missouri suspended him indefinitely for neglecting two client cases and entering a plea in a traffic case that was contrary to a client's instructions, the Illinois Supreme Court later imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for six months and until he was reinstated in Missouri. Mr. Simon disregarded both the Missouri and Illinois orders of suspension and continued to practice law in both states.
In re HOWARD
EUGENE TOWLES, Attorney
Number 6187209 File
Information: M.R. 18749, 99 CH 56
Mr.
Towles, who was licensed in 1984, was suspended for six months.
He commingled client funds and failed to deliver promptly
portions of bond refunds belonging to two clients.
In
re ALLEN WEISSMAN, Attorney Number 2974355 File
Number: M.R. 18986, 01 CH 125
Mr. Weissman, who was licensed in 1978, was suspended for two years and
until he makes certain restitution. He
mismanaged funds belonging to a decedent’s estate, borrowed
and failed to pay back money from another client, neglected a
personal injury matter, and made a misrepresentation concerning
the personal injury matter.
In
re ROBERT JOHN WITTEBORT, JR., File Number: M.R.
18981, 03 DC 1010
Mr. Wittebort, who was
licensed in 1974, was disbarred upon consent.
He was convicted in federal court of wire fraud and
filing false income tax returns.
In re JANE RODENBORN
WYNN, Attorney Number
3122246 File Number: M.R. 18983, 03 CH 41 Ms. Wynn, who was licensed in 1978, was suspended for one year. She converted client funds from a real estate transaction. THE
FOLLOWING DISCIPLINARY ORDERS WERE ENTERED BY THE COURT BEFORE
THE NOVEMBER TERM BUT WERE NOT INCLUDED IN ANY PREVIOUS
INFORMATION RELEASE:
In re PETER J.
BORZEKA, Attorney Number 6182544 File
Information: M.R. 18891, 99 CH 111 (Order
entered on September 24, 2003)
Mr.
Borzeka, who was licensed in 1982, was suspended for three years
and until further order of Court. He misappropriated $51,950
from a decedent’s estate while serving as an executor, aided
in the unauthorized practice of law by allowing an unlicensed
law school graduate to practice from his office, and made false
representations to the Committee on Character and Fitness
regarding the law school graduate’s job responsibilities at
his office.
In
re ANDREA E. GAMBINO, Attorney Number 6224983 File
Information: M.R. No. 18878, 02 CH 81 (Order
entered September 24, 2003)
Ms.
Gambino, who was licensed in 1994, was suspended for one year,
with the suspension stayed after 90 days followed by a one-year
period of probation with conditions. Discipline is set to
commence on January 1, 2004. While employed as an assistant
federal defender, she began a personal relationship with a
client who had illegally reentered the United States, and she
facilitated his unlawful efforts to remain here.
In re MICHAEL W.
LOUIS, Attorney Number 6193965 File
Information: M.R. 18874, 02 SH 82 (Order
entered on October 16, 2003)
Mr.
Louis, who was licensed to practice in 1986, was disbarred on
consent. He was convicted in federal court of two counts of
international parental kidnapping and one count of obstruction
of justice. He
kidnapped his two minor daughters and took them to Costa Rica in
violation of a custody agreement. In
re ROBERT BERRY MAYS, Jr., Attorney Number 1804014 File
Information: M.R. 18853, 01 SH 80 (Order
entered on September 25, 2003)
Mr.
Mays, who was licensed in 1969, was suspended for two years and
until further order of Court retroactive to August 12, 2002, the
date of his interim suspension.
He continued to practice law during his previous
suspension for professional misconduct and assisted non-lawyer
employees of a property management company in filing forcible
entry and detainer actions in his name without his prior review.
In
re EDWARD TIMOTHY McAULIFFE, File
Information: M.R. 17544, 99 CH 97 (Order
entered on October 30, 2003)
Mr.
McAuliffe, who was licensed in 1976, was previously suspended by
the Court for six months, with all but the first forty-five days
stayed by eighteen months of probation with conditions. He
failed to prosecute a lawsuit on behalf of clients,
misrepresented the status of the matter to the clients, and then
paid them approximately $6,200 as a purported settlement of
their claim. He
also failed to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation.
Because he failed to comply with the conditions of his
probation, the probation was revoked,
the stay of his suspension was vacated, and Mr. McAuliffe was
suspended from the practice of law for four and one-half (4.5)
months.
In
re JAMES SAINT SATHER, Attorney Number 3123607 File
Information: M.R. 18932, 03 CH 72 (Order
entered on October 15, 2003)
Mr.
Sather, who was licensed in 1979, was suspended on an interim
basis and until further order of Court. He was convicted
in the Circuit Court of DuPage County for theft of more than
$100,000.00. He is currently serving a previously ordered
suspension for conversion.
In re GARY LEE SUDETH,
Attorney Number 2764865 File
Information: M.R. 18930, 03 DC 1008 (Order
entered on October 15, 2003) Mr. Sudeth, who was licensed in 1973, was disbarred on consent. While acting as chief executive officer of a company providing third-party recovery services for health insurance companies, he misappropriated at least $200,000 in funds owed to a client of the company. |