Harry V. Cardoni of Harveys Lake agreed to a five-year suspension that was applied retroactively to December 2010, when he was initially levied a temporary suspension, according to an order the Office of Disciplinary Counsel filed last week.
The order means Cardoni has already completed his suspension and could allow him to return as a practicing attorney.
“We intend to petition the disciplinary board to reinstate him as an attorney,” said Cardoni’s Philadelphia-based attorney Marc S. Raspanti, noting that process can take about a year.
Cardoni was temporarily suspended after admitting he gave former Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole perks, including use of his New Jersey beach house, in exchange for the judge appointing Cardoni’s preferred arbitrator in an insurance case, resulting in an award for Cardoni’s client of about $1 million.
Toole pleaded guilty to accepting an illegal gratuity from an attorney, as well as to failing to pay taxes on a “finder’s fee” he received from another attorney — Kids-for-Cash figure Robert J. Powell, who admitted paying $770,000 in bribes to former Luzerne County judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan in exchange for them funneling juvenile defendants to two private detention centers Powell partly owned.
Toole was sentenced to serve 2½ years in prison and ordered to pay $5,000 in fines.
Cardoni cooperated with prosecutors, who said he “expressed genuine remorse” for his actions. He was never charged with a crime.
But the Office of Disciplinary Counsel for the Supreme Court temporarily suspended his license based on his admission to providing items of value to Toole.
In the time since, Cardoni has been helping elderly family members, managing several properties he owns and assisting a friend and family member in developing several businesses, according to a petition filed in May.
The petition says Cardoni has also completed the continuing legal education requirements since he was temporarily suspended and that he understands he will need to file a petition seeking reinstatement to the state bar association if he intends to return as a practicing attorney.
Full Article & Source:
Attorney’s discipline case finally resolved
1 comment:
It makes me think of all the money spent on these types of cases. They need to be handled quickly and not drag out for years.
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