The Supreme Court of Illinois on Wednesday, January 23, 2008, 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.

  The attached list contains 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. The announcement of the orders may be reviewed at the Supreme Court of Illinois website: www.state.il.us/court. Unless otherwise noted, the mandate of discipline issued immediately.

  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 85,000 attorneys in Illinois. Yearly fees are imposed on most Illinois lawyers 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 Jerome Larkin.

In re ZAKEYA LEONA BROOKINS, Attorney Number 6273775
Post Office Box 368591
Chicago, IL  60636-8591

File information: M.R. 21888, 07 RC 1514

  Ms. Brookins was licensed in Illinois and California in 2001. She was suspended in California for one year, with the suspension stayed after ninety days by three years of probation with conditions. She failed to provide competent representation in six different client matters. Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended her for ninety days. The suspension is effective on February 13, 2008.

In re LAWRENCE EDWARD BROMDEN,
Attorney Number 6271014
1745 Maple Road, Suite 201
Homewood, Illinois  60430-1300

File Information: M.R. 22065, 07 CH 51

  Mr. Bromden, who was licensed in 2000, was suspended for five months. While an associate with a law firm, he used the firm’s credit card number to make five unauthorized purchases of items over the internet totaling $1,629.23. The suspension is effective on February 13, 2008.

In re J. ANTHONY CLARK, Attorney Number 3126026
Post Office Box A3845
Chicago, Illinois 60690-3845

File Information: M.R. 22030, 07 CH 36

  Mr. Clark, who was licensed in 1980, was suspended for five months. He engaged in sexual relations with a client who suffered from a mental illness and whom he was representing in a domestic relations matter. The suspension is effective on February 13, 2008.

In re MICHAEL B. COHEN, Attorney Number 475521
35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 595
Chicago, Illinois 60601-2103

File Information: M.R. 22066, 05 CH 128

  Mr. Cohen, who was licensed in 1967, was suspended for ninety days and until he makes certain restitution and completes a law office management course. He neglected two client matters and failed to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation. The suspension is effective on February 13, 2008.

In re RYAN C. FITZGIBBONS, Attorney Number 6273530
1701 South 1^st Avenue, Suite 204
Maywood, Illinois 60153-2400

File Information: M.R. 22114, 07 CH 25

  Mr. Fitzgibbons, who was licensed in 2000, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. He neglected four client matters, failed to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation, and did not participate at the hearing in his case.

In re JEANNE E. GETTELMAN, Attorney Number 6210609
Post Office Box 268
Lemont, Illinois 60439-0268

File Information: M.R. 22055, 06 CH 69

  Ms. Gettelman, who was licensed in 1992, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court. She neglected two client matters, failed to refund unearned fees, and counseled a client to conceal herself and the client’s minor daughter from authorities in order to evade a court order transferring custody of the child to the child’s father. She failed to participate in the disciplinary proceedings.

In re EDWARD ALLEN GREGORY, Attorney Number 6203379
111 West Washington, Suite 737
Chicago, Illinois 60602-2807

File Information: M.R. 22102, 06 CH 17

  Mr. Gregory, who was licensed in 1990, was disbarred. He neglected numerous client matters, failed to return unearned legal fees, engaged in conduct involving overreaching when he advised clients to invest in a business that he incorporated, failed to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation, and did not appear at the hearing in this case.

In re DAVID SCOTT GROSKY, Attorney Number 6193973
1000 Asbury Drive, Suite 7
Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089-4551

File Information: M.R. 21997, 07 DC 1008

  Mr. Grosky, who was licensed in 1986, was disbarred on consent. He pled guilty to federal charges of wire and mail fraud. In his capacity as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Efoora, Inc., he devised and participated in a scheme to defraud investors and to obtain money and property by means of material false and fraudulent pretenses.

In re JO ANN GRYDER, Attorney Number 6275045
609 North Bridge Street
Yorkville, Illinois 60560-1104

File Information: M.R. 22052, 06 CH 65

  Ms. Gryder, who was licensed in 2001, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court. She neglected seven client matters, made false statements to clients, practiced law while removed from the Master Roll of Attorneys, and made false statements regarding her registration status.

In re JAMES WILLIAM HOLMAN, Attorney Number 6185420
1330 Chestnut Ridge Drive
Naperville, Illinois 60540-4012

File Information: M.R. 21952, 05 CH 123

  Mr. Holman, who was licensed in 1983, was suspended for three years and until further order of Court. He neglected seven client matters, failed to consult with clients prior to voluntarily dismissing a lawsuit, and failed to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation. He was previously disciplined for professional misconduct.

In re TOM O'CONNELL HOLSTEIN, Attorney Number 1251716
109 West Elm Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610-2805

File Information: M.R. 22063, 06 CH 39

  Mr. Holstein, who was licensed in 1972, was disbarred. He failed to comply with Supreme Court rules when he was suspended for professional misconduct in 2005. In addition, Mr. Holstein, or someone acting at his direction, forged his late wife’s signature on a bank signatory card claiming that she was his business partner in the practice of law. He also filed a filed false fee petition in a bankruptcy case.

In re JEFFREY MARK ISAACSON, Attorney Number 6201351
1371A Abbott Court
Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089-2367

File Information: M.R. 22090, 07 CH 48

  Mr. Isaacson, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended for thirty days.  He neglected a client’s personal injury claim and initially failed to cooperate in the disciplinary proceeding. The suspension is effective on February 13, 2008.

In re KENNETH BRIAN MOLL, Attorney Number 6199874
Three First National Plaza, 50th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60602-5016

File Information: M.R. 22061, 04 CH 131

  Mr. Moll, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court. He failed to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a couple who lost a two-year old child, then lied to the clients about his handling of their claim. He was previously disciplined on two occasions for unrelated misconduct.

In re TIMOTHY O’REILLY O’SULLIVAN,
Attorney Number 6182347
1420 Strassner Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63144-1871

File Information: M.R. 21990, 07 SH 38

  Mr. O’Sullivan, who was licensed in 1982, was suspended for thirty days. He neglected a civil case and made misrepresentations to his client about the status of the matter. The suspension is effective on February 13, 2008.

In re GERALD GEORGE PENOVICH, Attorney Number 3126324
100 West Monroe Street, Suite 910
Chicago, Illinois 60603-1957

File information: M.R. 22062, 07 DC 1009

  Mr. Penovich, who was licensed in 1980, was disbarred on consent. He was convicted in federal court of participating in a scheme to defraud insurance carriers and rental car companies through staged automobile accidents.

In re TRAVIS RICHARDSON, Attorney Number 6244202
407 South Dearborn Street, Suite 1310
Chicago, Illinois 60605-1153

File information: M.R. 22053, 07 CH 11

  Mr. Richardson, who was licensed in 1997, was censured. He obtained a contingent fee without a written fee agreement in a property forfeiture matter.

In re MICHAEL J. ROBERTS, Attorney Number 6243746
720 N. Larrabee Street, Unit 1413
Chicago, Illinois 60610-3688

File information: M.R. 22006, 05 CH 57

  Mr. Roberts, who was licensed in 1997, was disbarred. He misappropriated over $150,000 from two clients and a third party. In addition, he fraudulently induced a friend to lend him the money to make restitution to one of the clients.

In re ERNEST THOMAS ROSSIELLO, Attorney Number 2397137
134 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1330
Chicago, Illinois  60602-1057
 

File Number: M.R. 21894, 03 CH 33

  Mr. Rossiello, who was licensed in Illinois in 1971, was suspended for four months. He rejected a settlement offer in an employment case without first consulting with his client, and he was not candid during the course of the disciplinary hearing process. The suspension is effective on February 13, 2008.

In re TWILA J. RUSSELL, Attorney Number 6187815
304 East Jefferson Street
Effingham, Illinois 62401-1108

File information: M.R. 21989, 07 SH 29

  Ms. Russell, who was licensed in 1984, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed by a five-year period of probation. She engaged in numerous acts of retail theft over a period of several years. Her misconduct was attributable to a psychological condition now under treatment. 

In re DAVID PHILLIP SCHLUCKEBIER,
Attorney Number 6217160
Des Pemuteran Gerokgak
Singaraja 81155, Bali, Indonesia

File information: M.R. 22054, 06 CH 49

  Mr. Schluckebier, who was licensed in 1993, was disbarred. While residing in the Republic of Palau, he participated in a scheme to launder money derived from his wife’s operation of a house of prostitution. He also testified falsely at his wife’s criminal trial.

In re CHUKA B. UWECHIA, Attorney Number 6200428
28 East Jackson Street, Suite 1020
Chicago, Illinois 60604-2340

File information: M.R. 22113, 06 CH 76

  Mr. Uwechia, who was licensed in 1989, was censured and ordered to attend the Professionalism Seminar of the Illinois Professional Responsibility Institute. He neglected a civil matter and failed to cooperate with the disciplinary investigation.

In re FRANK XAVIER WEINERT, Attorney Number 6270808
16 West Van Buren, Suite 200
Joliet, Illinois 60432-4200

File Information: M.R. 22110, 06 CH 79

  Mr. Weinert, who was licensed in 1999, was disbarred on consent. He neglected eight client matters, failed to communicate with clients, did not refund unearned fees, converted money entrusted in two immigration matters, and made misrepresentations to clients and the Commission.

In re HARRY ALFRED YOUNG, Jr., Attorney Number 3092437
222 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2100
Chicago, Illinois 60606-6101

File Information: M.R. 22016, 05 CH 61

  Mr. Young, who was licensed in 1958, was censured. He engaged in a conflict of interest when he represented a client in a dissolution of marriage proceeding against the client’s husband, whom he had previously represented in a dissolution of marriage proceeding that was eventually dismissed. 

 The Following Orders Were Entered By The Court in Disciplinary Cases Before The January 2008 Term But Were Not Included In Any Previous Information Release

In re ROBERT BRUCE BECKER, Attorney Number 6215745
Post Office Box 992
Peoria, Illinois 61653-0992

File Information: M.R. 21979, 07 SH 106
 

Order entered on November 27, 2007

 

  Mr. Becker, who was licensed in 1993, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He was found guilty in state court of predatory sexual assault of a child and criminal sexual assault and was sentenced to serve a 14-year jail term.

 

In re WILLIAM FRANCIS HALEY, Attorney Number 3122643

Post Office Box 5041

Wheaton, Illinois 60189-5041
 

File Information: M.R. 21927, 06 CH 92
 

Order entered on December 6, 2007
 

  Mr. Haley, who was licensed in 1978, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He misappropriated $161 from the settlement proceeds of personal injury clients. He was previously disciplined for similar misconduct. In the instant case, he took the money in order to make restitution to a client whose funds he had converted in the earlier disciplinary case.

In re KENNETH EDWARD MATEAS, Attorney Number 6183645
346 North Lake Street
Aurora, Illinois 60506-4151

File Information: M.R. 22025, 07 ML 6013

Order entered on January 11, 2008

  Mr. Mateas, who was licensed in 1982, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He is presently the subject of a pending state criminal case in which he has been charged with forty-nine felony counts of child pornography. In 2003, he was suspended and placed on perpetual probation after he entered a guilty plea to one count of attempted possession of child pornography.

In re WILLIAM FRANCIS MURPHY, Attorney Number 6271357
2000 South Batavia Avenue, 2nd Floor
Geneva, Illinois 60134-3303

File Information: M.R. 22081, 07 CH 116

Order entered on January 14, 2008

  Mr. Murphy, who was licensed in 2000, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He entered a plea of guilty in state court to one count of indecent solicitation of a child, a Class 3 felony. He was sentenced to a thirty-day jail term and placed on sex offender probation for thirty months with conditions. 

In re GARY EVAN PEEL, Attorney Number 2166259
16 Kensington Court
Glen Carbon, Illinois 62034-1559

File Information: M.R. 22086, 07 SH 117

Order entered on January 11, 2008

  Mr. Peel, who was admitted in 1968, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. Following a jury trial in federal court, he was found guilty of bankruptcy fraud, obstruction of justice, and possession of child pornography, and he was sentenced to a fourteen-year prison term.

In re ROGER H. WILLIAMS, Attorney Number 3027325
1901 West Division Street, Suite 4N
Chicago, Illinois 60622-3713

File Information: M.R. 21037, 05 CH 118
 

Order entered on December 28, 2007
 

  Mr. Williams, who was licensed in 1973, was suspended for one year after he violated the conditions of a disciplinary probation. He was disciplined initially because he settled a personal injury claim without his client’s consent, mismanaged client funds, and practiced law after he failed to register and pay his annual registration fee.