Seminole Fla.- Area Attorney Caught On Tape Vandalizing Client's Home

This story from the Orlando Sentinel is pretty obnoxious placing me in mind of the story form last year of the baseball bat-wielding maniac lawyer from Charleston, W. Va. that we featured on Bad Lawyer last year.   This narcissitic creep is caught on video tape vandalizing a client's home apparently over a fee dispute and bar complaint--that the angry lawyer prevailed over!  Here's the reporter Jeff Weiner' Sentinel story (where you can also watch the amazing video):

"A Longwood (Seminole County, Fla) lawyer arrested on charges of burglarizing the home of a former client taunted his victim with several text messages threatening 'all out war,' according to a Lake Mary police report released Friday.

Albert E. Ford II, 43, who specializes in environmental and land-use issues, and Kasee Singh, who has owned realty, development and title companies, were locked in a dispute over fees, documents show. Singh filed a complaint in April with The Florida Bar. The group on July 13 informed Singh that his complaint was being dismissed because Ford's fees were not excessive or fraudulent. The Bar told Singh he was free to sue Ford if he wanted to pursue the matter. Messages left for Singh were not returned. Ford's attorney could not be immediately reached.

Among the Bar documents released Friday was a Feb. 25 e-mail to Ford from Singh demanding payment and stating that his 'former friend' owed more than $20,000.

'Well, you, sir, have proven to be a no good liar and I will be compensated for my work one way or another,' Ford wrote, adding he would win a lawsuit against Singh so 'the entire community knows what a sleazy, no good, deceitful jerk that you are.'

Ford remained in the Seminole County Jail late Friday on charges of armed burglary to a dwelling, grand theft, burglary to an occupied dwelling and damaging property-criminal mischief.  Police say Ford is the man shown on security video burglarizing Singh's Lake Mary house Wednesday. He was arrested Thursday at his home, also in Lake Mary.

The armed burglary charge apparently was lodged after Singh told police that he found ammunition and gun parts near his garage. They were taken into evidence. Singh told officers he arrived home from work to find damage to his house and pool. He also showed police several messages in which Ford offered a 'last warning' and referred to Singh as a 'weak puppy,' the police report shows.

'I declare all out war against you,' wrote Ford in the first message, received by Singh at 9:35 a.m. Wednesday, according to the report. 'I warned you against trying to go after my livelihood. This is your last warning.' In two other messages in the report received minutes after the incident, Ford asks Singh, 'Why are you so weak' and taunts, 'What's up weak puppy.'

Video and still photos released by police show a man driving up to Singh's house in a black pickup at 5:19 p.m. Wednesday, going to the front door, then walking around back and entering a pool enclosure.

Police say Ford broke the front doorbell, kicked a concrete bench into the pool and removed a pool tank and filter and canister on the side of the house near the pool. The filter and canister were found nearby.

In the video, the man, who was accompanied by a black dog — possibly a Labrador retriever — jiggles a large American flag in front of the house till it dislodges from its holder. He tosses the flag into the bed of his truck along with the tank and filter, then drives off with the dog in the pickup bed, too. Singh showed police three .380-caliber rounds and pieces of a gun he said he found near his garage along with broken glass from a shattered light, the report says. Before he was arrested, the report states, assistants at Ford's law firm told authorities that Ford often carried a gun.

Ford graduated from Tulane University Law School in 1995 and was admitted to The Florida Bar the same year. The Bar website has no record of discipline against him during the past 10 years."

More On Fake Leathernecks

AZCentral.com has more on the fake Marine, John Rodriguez (pic) who was convicted under multiple criminal fraud charges of faking military service and military honors for financial gain.  As we talked about, efforts to create the separate post-9/11criminal offense called "Stolen Valor" has been unsuccessful. These enactments are unconstitutional, but criminal convictions for financial fraud are always going to be upheld.  Rodriguez is a fraud.

The Cop and the Midget Porn Star

A Stoughton, Mass police officer has resigned his job one month after receiving a commendation for his work in a murder investigation because he has a little problem with staying focused.  Here's the story from the  Gatehouse New Service and reporter Allan Stein:

"The Stoughton police chief says a decorated patrolman installed a laser sight on his service weapon against department policy, deserted his patrol to meet a woman billed as “the world’s smallest porn star,” then lied about it all in an internal investigation prompted by his peers.


Officer Richard P. Bennett, who just last month received a commendation for his work in a March murder case, has resigned rather than face disciplinary action, Police Chief Paul Shastany said.

'Momma told me there would be days like this,' Shastany said. 'We are not red-faced. In fact, I am pretty proud (other officers) stepped up.'

Bennett, 28, of Fall River, submitted his one-paragraph resignation letter to Town Manager Francis T. Crimmins on June 30. His resignation came 10 days after he made an on-duty, in-uniform visit during a graveyard shift to Club Alex’s Gentlemen’s Club, where 3-foot-9-inch adult-film star Bridget 'The Midget' Powers was making a guest appearance.

'He was insubordinate and left his section and drove over to Alex’s,' Shastany said.

Bennett did not radio other officers to alert them he was headed to the club, Shastany said; the department has a strict policy requiring officers to alert dispatch and team up with a partner any time they respond to the strip club.

Shastany said at least five officers alerted the administration of Bennett’s trip to the club.
Bennett was also investigated for a policy violation after his weapon misfired during a firearms recertification exercise. Shastany said officers discovered an unauthorized laser sight, which provides better target acquisition and greater accuracy. 'If you are going to modify your weapon, it has to be under the express permission of the police chief, in writing, and through the armory,' Shastany said. 'It is not an option for an officer to decide what will be carried and how it will be carried. I will decide that.'

Stoughton police Executive Officer Robert Devine said Bennett lied to officers investigating the matters internally. 'He lied during the course of the investigation. He made some statements, some fabrications during the course of the investigation, and the chief made it clear from day one, if anyone was untruthful, he wants their job.'

Shastany just last month presented Bennett with a letter of commendation for his superior performance during a murder investigation. Bennett was one of several officers credited with the arrest of an Attleboro man for the shooting death of 21-year-old Stephen Irving on March 16."
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Sounds to me like Officer Bennet was not highly regarded by his peers. 

Long Term Harm

The South Carolina Post and Courier reports  on the sentencing of Jessica L. Bradley (pic) a 20 year old area woman who as a teen had a sexual relationship with a boy 4 years her junior and subsequently became pregnant with the young man's child.  She is gong to prison.This is Schulyer Kropf's account;

"A woman who became involved in a sexual relationship with a teenage boy and gave birth to their baby was sentenced to four years in prison Friday for possessing child pornography.

Jessica L. Bradley, formerly of the Hanahan area, pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, which is the state's law dealing with pornographic material and minors.   The pornographic images were not of the boy, who was about 15 when the sexual relationship started last year. She was 19.   Jessica L. Bradley pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Circuit Judge Roger Young sentenced Bradley to 10 years in prison, suspended to four years behind bars followed by five years of probation. The judge said he was troubled by her extensive involvement in pornography and apparent lack of remorse. He did note that she had been sexually abused as a youth.

Bradley, now 20, said little in court, other than to acknowledge the judge's questions. She has been in the Charleston County Detention Center for more than a year.

Jail time is warranted in the case, Young said during her guilty plea in the Charleston County Judicial Center, 'to help you recognize the wrong of what you were doing.'

Ninth Circuit Assistant Solicitor Debbie Herring-Lash, who prosecutes child sex crimes, said it is difficult to track how often incidents of women getting involved with teenagers occurs locally, largely because boys are much less likely to report the conduct.

Bradley was described as a neighborhood friend of the boy's family. According to courtroom statements, she sneaked the boy into her residence, where she exposed him to a variety of sexual materials, including videos.  The relationship began in the spring of 2009. Authorities later seized computers containing pornographic images.  In court Friday, the teenage victim told Young he is trying to overcome lingering emotional problems from his association with Bradley, including withdrawal and anguish.

'She actually made me withdraw from my friends,' he said.

The case was investigated across several jurisdictions, including the North Charleston and Hanahan police departments, and the state attorney general's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Assistant Attorney General Priscilla Jones said the office made a legal decision not to pursue the case beyond Friday's five-count guilty plea.  Separately, the teen also is trying to gain custody of his 13-month-old daughter. She is in foster care through the Department of Social Services, his family said.  When Bradley is released from prison she will have to register as a sexual offender. Her prison sentence begins immediately."
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I handled several matters that were in my opinion far more egregious than this case.  Something about the relative ages of the defendant and victim give me pause. 

When you think about child sex abuse, it's pretty easy to understand the long term harm.  This is a case about the long term harm.

Pot-Smoking Medical Examiner Indicted

The pot-possessing Coroner of Tennessee and Mississippi, Dr. Bruce Levy entered a not guilty plea on a felony possession indictment according to a report at the Tennessean.  As you will recall Bad Lawyer reported on this story back in March.

The current story--which I'm sure will find its way into a plot line of an episode of Law and Order, is reported by Brian Haas:Former Davidson County and state Medical Examiner Bruce Levy was indicted Tuesday on charges of possessing more than 30 grams of marijuana in Mississippi.

Levy had been arrested in March after authorities say a drug dog sniffed marijuana in a package bound for his Ridgeland, Miss., hotel. State narcotics agents searched the hotel room and found even more marijuana, authorities have said. In all, police estimate they found more than 40 grams of drugs.

On Tuesday, Levy appeared in a Madison County courtroom to be served with the indictment and be arraigned. 'I have no comment about the case,' said Levy's attorney, David Raybin. 'Dr. Levy ... entered a plea of not guilty.' Levy, who has been free on $25,000 bond, could face 20 years in prison if convicted of the felony charge.

Levy had been Tennessee's head medical examiner since 1998 and was president and CEO of Forensic Medical in Nashville. He served as Davidson County's medical examiner and contracted in Mississippi to do autopsies there as well.

He has been suspended from working in any of those locations.But Levy's troubles may not be limited to Mississippi.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation wrapped up an investigation into Levy's activities in Tennessee earlier this year. There had been worries that the drugs could have been stolen from corpses that his office received. The Davidson County District Attorney General's Office continues to investigate whether Levy compromised any criminal cases.
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As I said back in March, I can imagine that there are quite a few habeus corpus petitions being filed in the wake of this guy's arrest.  Any conviction based on his expert testimony has to be subject to strict examination.  More to come I'm sure.

By the way a very similar scenario is playing out in San Francisco with the crime lab director under arrest for theft of drugs, and major issues relating to "forensic evidence."

Toronto Police, Pied!

The Toronto Sun reports on the order of the Canadian Supreme Court upholding the $5,000 award to a tenacious lawyer who was strip searched by the police during a 2002 protest at the G20 summit on suspicion of having a pie intended for then Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Now, if you are suspected by the gendarmes of having an untoward pie concealed on your person,would not a simple "pat down" suffice to assure the authorities that you are pie-less?  The Toronto Sun also wonders at this obvious point but for the Canadian constabulary the answer is: apparently, not.  The Toronto police now get to pay Mr. Alan Cameron Ward his long overdue, $5,000 judgment.

Probate Lawyer Disbarred

The ABAJournal reports on the disbarment of New Hampshire probate attorney Lynn Morse,  The opinion of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire is at the link.
Mr. Morse is an extraordinary example of an attorney who procrastinated himself into disbarment. Morse did this in his handling or rather, I should say his mishandling of a guardianship and subsequent probate estate matter: 

"In disbarring Mr. Morse the NH Supreme Court said:We retain the ultimate authority to determine the sanction for a violation of the rules governing attorney conduct.  When determining whether to impose the ultimate sanction of disbarment, we focus not on punishing the offender, but on protecting the public, maintaining public confidence in the bar, preserving the integrity of the legal profession, and preventing similar conduct in the future. We consider the case on its own facts and circumstances in deciding the sanction. The sanction we impose must take into account the severity of the misconduct. . .

We look to the Standards for guidance. Under the Standards, we consider the following factors when imposing sanctions: (a) the duty violated; (b) the lawyer's mental state; (c) the potential or actual injury caused by the lawyer's misconduct; and (d) the existence of aggravating or mitigating factors.  We first categorize the respondent's misconduct and identify the baseline sanction. After determining the sanction, we then consider the effect of any aggravating or mitigating factors on the ultimate sanction. Id. Where there are multiple misconduct charges, "the sanction imposed should at least be consistent with the sanction for the most serious instance of misconduct among a number of violations; it might well be and generally should be greater than the sanction for the most serious misconduct."

[With citations of law deleted]
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Essentially what Mr. Morse did was fail to attend to this legal matter.   For years he failed to file or he lied saying he had filed required accounting paperwork and tax returns.  Morse prejudiced the beneficiaries of the nearly half-million dollar estate, including one of who died before attorneys distributed proceeds due to the beneficiary under the terms of the Estate.  Morse even failed to file a brief in his own disciplinary case.  The NH Supreme Court decision unanimously rejected a recommended 2 year suspension of the state disciplinary authorities to permanently disbar Mr. Morse.

This is an astonishing case--but, I imagine there are a lot of solo practitioners out there that are going to read this opinion and squirm.  Squirm, because like me, there are areas of my personal and professional life that I did not deal with.  Normal areas of life that required "normal perfection," not extraordinary heroics.  I rationalized my failure to attend to normal day-to-day responsibilities by saying to myself--look at how well you did in this crisis or this tragedy--ignoring at my ultimate peril the quotidian.  If this is you, GET HELP.   There is help available, call your local Lawyers Assistance Program.

Maryland State Trooper Facing Child Porn Charges

Crime reporter Peter Hermann of the Baltimore Sun reports that this guy (pic, left), Maryland State Trooper, Bruce Tucker is charged by prosecutors with possessing thousands of pornographic images of children:

"A Maryland State Trooper faces felony charges of possessing child pornography after more than 3,000 images were found on his computer, a Baltimore County Police spokesman said.  Investigators say Bruce Allen Tucker, 47, of Esplanade Court in Owings Mills, had received and exchanged images of child pornography, including male and female children performing sex acts, posing nude and performing oral sex. He was arrested July 16 and released after posting $50,000 bail.

State Police spokeswoman Elena Russo said Tucker has been suspended without pay.  According to the statement of charges, the investigation began in March. All the exchanges occurred while Tucker was off-duty, said Lt. Robert McCullough, a Baltimore County Police spokesman.

Here are more details from county police, who did not mention in a release that Tucker was a state trooper:

Baltimore County Police arrested Bruce Allen Tucker, 47, of Esplanade Court in Baltimore County. On July 16, he was arrested and charged with numerous child pornography charges to include possession of child pornography, possession of child pornography with the intent to distribute, and the distribution and possession of obscene matter.   Police investigation revealed that Tucker received and exchanged numerous images of child pornography over a period of several months. he images depicted pubescent male and female children nude performing sex acts, posing nude in a state of arousal, performing oral sex, and posing nude.

Tucker used the screen names Poledeepin@aol.com and LONGPOLEIN@aol.com. [charming]

Bruce Allen Tucker was released after posting bail in the amount of $50,000.
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If you get a strange email, beware, Trooper Tucker is on the loose. 

I now only feel obligated to send along the accounts of these child porn arrests if there is something particularly unusual in  the story.  The purpose of continuing to pass along these stories it to marshal the evidence for the proposition that the compulsion to look at child pronograpy, knows no boundary.

Be disgusted.

Prominent Kansas Lawyer, Faces Child Enticement Charges

Well, we've been here before, but the Kansas City Star is reporting (let me acknowledge the ABAJournal for the first catch on this story) on the "prominent" Oveland Park Law Partner who was sending video of himself masturbating in his law office in an effort to entice a 14 year old into meeting him for sex.  Thi is Joe Lambe's account:

A partner in an Overland Park law firm is charged with attempting to entice a minor and with sending and receiving child pornography.  Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged Samuel P. Logan, 45, of Kansas City, in federal court in Kansas. Federal judges in that state quickly recused themselves, and the case is now in federal court in Kansas City.  Logan’s father, James K. Logan, is a former federal appellate judge who heard Kansas cases and before that was dean of the KU law school from 1961 to 1968.

Samuel Logan is a partner in Foulston Siefkin, the largest law firm based in Kansas with offices in Overland Park, Wichita and Topeka. Jim Oliver, another partner in the firm, said it cooperated with FBI agents who were there Thursday. He declined further comment.

According to federal charging documents, Logan used a web camera to send images of himself masturbating in what appears to be a law office.

From June 1 through July 22, he sent them to an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl and also engaged in sexual conversations with the officer and sent images of adult and child pornography, prosecutors say. During conversations with undercover agents, Logan told them he was Sam, that he was 45 years old and that he was an Overland Park lawyer who worked on the fourth floor and drove a Toyota Camry, according to court records.
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Another Maritndale-Hubell "AV-rated" attorneyand past Johnson County, Kansas Bar Association president.

The Distracted Driver Doing Her Nails, Get's 18 Months--An Update

Back in May Bad Lawyer featured the story of the distracted Chicago area driver who while doing her nails slammed into the back of  motorcycle killing the female operator. According to a report at the Chicago Tribune, Lora Hunt  killed Anita Zaffke while hurtling down the highway at 50 mph applying nail polish.

The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that Mrs. Hunt, an RN, was sentenced to 18 months This is from Dan Rozek;'s account of the sentencing:

"'I want the family to know how deeply sorry I am for my actions,' 49-year-old Lora Hunt (pic, left) said, looking across the Waukegan courtroom at Zaffke's relatives. 'Not a day goes by that I don't cry and feel their pain. I wish I could embrace this family and tell them personally how sorry I am.'

Lora Hunt was sentenced to 18 months for fatally striking motorcyclist Anita Zaffke (right), whom Hunt didn't see because she was painting her fingernails.

Greg Zaffke II and his wife, Heidi, walk out of a courtroom at the Lake County Courthouse on Thursday in Waukegan. Zaffke attended the sentencing of Lora Hunt, who killed his mother, Anita Zaffke, with her car in 2009.

Her apology, though, didn't spare Hunt time behind bars: Lake County Judge Fred Foreman sentenced her to 18 months of periodic imprisonment, then ordered her to be taken into custody immediately. The sentence will keep her in the Lake County Jail at night, though allow her to be free during the day to work, receive medical care or mental health counseling and perform community service. But Hunt, a nurse from Downstate Morris, isn't working now -- so she will spend virtually all of her time in the jail, authorities said.

Defense attorney Jeffery Tomczak, who had sought probation for Hunt, was dismayed by the term imposed. 'He maxed her out on incarceration,' Tomczak said of Foreman's sentence. 'I only wish Judge Foreman would have considered more of her good deeds.'

Hunt wept as she was taken into custody, telling her husband, adult children and extended family: 'I love all you guys.'She was convicted in May of reckless homicide and faced up to five years in prison for slamming into Zaffke's motorcycle at a traffic signal on Route 12 and Old McHenry Road.   But Hunt, who had a clean driving record before the crash, also was eligible for probation.

Prosecutor Michael Mermel asked for the maximum prison term, noting that Hunt admitted to police following the May 2, 2009, accident that she had been distracted' because she was painting her fingernails as she drove. 'Because the defendant wanted pretty nails, Anita Zaffke had to die,' Mermel said as he asked for a prison term.

Zaffke's relatives said they were satisfied with the punishment imposed by Foreman. 'We feel it was an appropriate sentence,' said her son, 32-year-old Greg Zaffke II, adding that family were pleased that Hunt will not walk away from the deadly crash without having to spend time in custody.

'It's not probation and it's not community service,'  he said, sporting black nail polish to honor his mother. Greg Zaffke was less impressed with Hunt's apology and the good wishes she offered toward his family. 'My problem is I can't hug my mom,' he said. 'That's the missing link here.'

Zaffke's husband, Greg Sr., said he didn't doubt the sincerity of Hunt's apology. But the elder Zaffke said he still wanted Hunt held accountable for the death of his wife of 35 years -- a woman he described in court as 'my soul mate, my best friend, the best part of my life.'

'It's a void no one is going to be able to fill,' Greg Sr. said after the sentencing.

Hunt initially told police she had been painting her nails as she approached the intersection where she struck the 56-year-old Zaffke. Nail polish was found spattered inside her car, including on the airbag that deployed and helped prevent Hunt from suffering serious injuries in the crash.  However, during her May trial, Hunt testified that she stopped painting her nails as she approached the intersection but didn't see Zaffke in front of her because she was watching the traffic signal change to yellow as she approached."