A local attorney recently had his license suspended after three complaints were filed by his clients alleging that he didn’t adequately complete his legal responsibilities and that he paid himself excessive or inappropriate legal fees.
Clifford Fritzell III practiced family law in Madison until September when his license was suspended, barring him from practicing law, receiving money from clients and acquiring any new clients.
According to Statewide Grievance Committee documents obtained by the Register, the grievance panel determined that in each of the three complaints against Fritzell, probable cause exists to believe that Fritzell is guilty of misconduct.
The panel issued its first finding on July 12, regarding a complaint filed by New Haven resident Joan Richitelli.
According to the documents, Fritzell was appointed by the Probate Court as a conservator for Richitelli’s aunt, who died in 2010. The complaint alleges that Fritzell, who was hired to help probate Richitelli’s aunt’s estate, did nothing but pay normal bills and due to his inactivity, Richitelli terminated his representation.
The complaint also alleges that Fritzell then submitted a $77,393 bill for legal services, despite being a conservator for only a month. According to the document, Fritzell then told Richitelli’s new attorney that he didn’t have all of the estate’s money and he wanted to make monthly payments. He paid additional money, but he stopped payment on a final check for $10,000. Richitelli’s aunt’s estate was owed $10,953 as of July 12, the complaint said.
The panel found that Fritzell’s legal fee was excessive and he did not properly hold and safeguard Richitelli’s aunt’s money, among other things.
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Madison Lawyer Has His License Suspended After 3 Clients File Complaints
11 comments:
I was married to mr fritzell fo almost 18 years.
He has a severe heroin addiction which he is in denial about and everybody in the court system refuses to address, while we were married and I tried to get him to go to rehab he responded by divorcing me in 2010.
Due to his addiction he is mentally unfit to carry on his practice of law or any other responsibilities, he was ousted from his large firm in New Haven, Ct, our former home is in forclosure and now his law license is suspended, what will it take for the Bar association and the courts to wake up and really see this for what it is, a drug addict gone wild.
D. Fritzell
Wow! Three complaints and he was suspended? That's wonderful and uplifting news!
I had a lawyer who turned out to have a cocaine addiction. That addiction cost him his career and me my case.
As I recall, the Bar came to this lawyer with outstretched arms to help him. And that was a good thing as he couldn't kick it on his own and he needed rehab. Hopefully, those efforts were not wasted.
But the damage he did to my case was permanent because once again, the Bar protected the lawyer and the judge rather than the principles that are supposed to be the foundation of the justice system.
Thank you for speaking up, Dawn. I wonder how many lawyers have addiction problems and how this problems affects their clients.
Talk about being stuck if your lawyer is presenting himself/herself as a stable person, accepting clients, practicing law when he/she is unable, compromised unable to represent his client to the best of his/her ability while the clock is ticking during open court case ongoing litigation deadlines to meet.
I am even more grateful that our lawyer met and exceeded high level of representation.
Thank you Attorney Frank J.
Long story short, a fourth complaint was mailed to the CT bar. Mine. Hopefully that one will put him in jail in that there remains a significant amount of money missing from the funds he stole from us. I consider it a huge success that we got back as much as we did. I plan on getting nothing additional back from him.
However, I will be filing a claim with the Client Reimbursement fund the CT bar keeps to reimburse victims of crimes by lawyers. Also, I'm not sure I want to let the CT legal community off the hook so easily. They gave a heroin addict (allegedly) a blank checkbook to my mother’s retirement account. I may want to go after them as well. Any idea what a 74 year old woman goes through when she finds out her retirement account was cleaned out?
This is mainly aimed at Dawn's comment about the legal community looking the other way to his problem. If you could give me any insight to who knew about his issues, what they knew and when they knew it, it could help put some pressure on the probate “industry”. For almost 40 years, investors, lawyers and the cronies the hang with raped my mother’s account for almost 40 years. She should have half a million dollars in that account or more right now. She instead has almost nothing.
Thanks everyone.
Little James if you would like to contact me email me at dfritzz@excite.com
D. Fritzell
Mr. Fritzell resigned from the CT Bar on Friday, 2/17, agreeing to never reapply. I can almost guarantee he did it because he knew he was going to be disbarrred. He now gets them off of his back. I guess it is up to me to press criminal charges on my own.
Finally!
Madison cops arrest man who once ran law firm in theft of $200,000 from estate.
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/11/29/blotter/doc50b7e0e3a459e162274211.txt
Clifford was sentenced today on 3 separate files, 10 year sentence with a 5 year floor and 5 years probation.
If anyone here is still interested in this case, please let me know. Thanks. I, like many of you I'm speaking to, signed a contract agreeing to not go after Mr. Fritzell any further. I'm not after Mr. Fritzell. Why would I? I presume he has nothing left. I'm going after the system that hired and nurtured him. Kicked cases to him.
My Mom is broke after 44 years of probate abuse and I'm out for blood.
Respond here. I'll be checking back.
Thanks.
Rick Barr
Rockville, MD
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