Judge Asks for Charges Against Her to be Dismissed

A judge indicted in the Cuyahoga County corruption investigation was in an Akron federal courtroom, asking that charges against her be dismissed.

Judge Bridget McCafferty’s lawyers entered several motions. Two were to dismiss charges and two to suppress evidence. The judge will rule on those motions at a later date.

McCafferty is charged with allegedly lying to the FBI about conversations she had with former commissioner Jimmy Dimora and former auditor Frank Russo concerning cases in her court. In exchange, she is accused of receiving campaign contributions. McCafferty denies those allegations.

McCafferty was indicted at the same time as fellow judge Steven Terry, who has been charges with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Source:
Cuhahoga County Judge Asks for Charges to be Dismissed

See Also:
Ohio: Two Corruption Defendents Ask for New Lawyers

Judge Accused of Fraud Goes on Paid Leave

An Oklahoma County judge accused of fraud has decided to take an extended leave of absence from the courthouse.

District Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure, 43, was charged last week with 30 counts of making a fraudulent claim against the state and two counts of perjury.

Her husband, Karlos Antonio LeSure, 46, was charged with two counts of making a fraudulent claim against the state and two counts of perjury.

Bass-LeSure took off this week at the request of Oklahoma County’s presiding judge. She now has decided to stay away longer while she fights the felony charge against her, multiple sources told The Oklahoman.

The case could take as much as a year or two to come to trial, if it goes that far. The judge for now will continue to be paid. Her salary is more than $120,000 a year.

Her attorney, Richard Anderson, said Thursday the judge’s decision was made out of respect for and to show dignity to her judicial office.

Full Article and Source:
Oaklahoma County District Judge Accused of Fraud to Stay on Paid Leave

See Also:
District Judge Charged With Fraud, Perjury

Al Katz, Part Four: The Final Legal Solution

This column will establish a pattern of elder abuse and give you an understanding of how a state like Florida and its guardianship system can keep a family at bay while making life-and-death decisions of questionable legal authority.

Beverly Newman in late October 2009 had to hire an attorney, as required by Florida law, to represent her in her highly-contested court fight to obtain guardianship from the State of Florida of Al Katz, her father.

According to Beverly, who had court-ordered visitation rights, her father was begging daily to return home from the nursing facility, which he hated. He appeared broken-hearted, and Beverly noted signs that he was being neglected to the point that he developed pitting edema of the lower extremities and cellulitis, for which he was hospitalized. In December 2008, Beverly had filed a petition in Indiana to care for her Father as his guardian. Until September 2009, no one else ever filed a petition to care for Mr. Katz as his guardian.

However, Beverly’s request to be her father’s guardian was opposed by Ms. Jackie Steuerwald, Al’s nurse. It should be noted that on September 10, 2008, Jackie Steuerwald took Mr. Katz, suffering from dementia, to his attorney in Indianapolis to have Mr. Katz’s will and advance directives changed.

In September 2009, with the assistance of Jackie Steuerwald, the Florida public guardian put Al into the lockdown unit in the basement of a metropolitan hospital, under a no-contact order from family and friends, for three weeks. From this confinement and isolation from his family, Al had constant flashbacks to the Holocaust and wandered the halls night and day until he was released.

The Florida court on November 23, 2009, appointed Beverly Newman as Guardian of the Person of Al Katz, but not of his property. The court granted restricted health care powers to Jackie Steuerwald and gave guardianship of the property to a professional guardian. Beverly discontinued all narcotics and psychotropics administered to her Father, and he began to regain his strength.

After weeks in the hospital, being put into hospice against his advance directives, Al Katz was taken home by Beverly and Larry, the son-in-law, who cared for him around the clock. Al’s condition gradually began to improve, while he was surrounded by his loving family.

Full Article and Source:
Al Katz: The Story of a Holocaust Survivor - part 4

See Also:
Al Katz: The Story of a Holocaust Survivor

Al Katz: Part Two: Road to Perdition

Al Katz: Part Three: There's No Room for Common Sense in the Eyes of Government Regulation

NASGA - Al Katz: Indiana/Florida Victim

Judge Pleads Not Guilty in Fraud Case

An Oklahoma County judge who has sentenced hundreds of criminals saw the justice system from the other side [1/24/11].

District Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure, 43, and husband Karlos Antonio LeSure, 46, surrendered at the Oklahoma County jail in a felony fraud case so they would not be arrested. There, they were fingerprinted and photographed.

The judge smiled broadly for her mug shot.

They then went to the courthouse for a quick arraignment. Special Judge Russell Hall entered not guilty pleas on their behalf. They remain free on personal recognizance bonds. A conference in the case was set for March 31.

Prosecutors allege the judge and her husband secretly gave away twins placed in their care. They allege the judge spent on herself some of the $22,000 in state funds paid to her for the children’s care.

Full Article and Source:
Oklahoma County Judge Pleads Not Guilty in Fraud Case

Nebraska: Oversight of Guardians Advances

A bill that would tighten oversight of guardians and conservators will be among the first debated in this year’s legislative session.

Members of the Judiciary Committee voted without dissent Thursday to advance Legislative Bill 157 to the full Legislature.

Among other things, the measure would require background checks for guardians and conservators and the furnishing of bonds for assets greater than $10,000.

It would require inventories of a ward’s assets before a guardian’s appointment becomes final and would allow for mediation to resolve disputes.

It also would allow third parties to ask for more court oversight when a ward’s safety, health or financial welfare appears in jeopardy.

State Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln, who introduced the bill, said it represents only the beginning of changes needed to better protect vulnerable Nebraskans.

“This puts some immediate, meaningful protections in place for wards,” he said. “There is much more to do.”

Full Article and Source:
Oversight of Guardians Advances

Trial Date Set for 'Road Rage' Judge

An Erie district judge faces trial before the state Court of Judicial Discipline for a road rage incident in which police say he brandished a gun, and for talking tough about juvenile crime and graffiti in news stories.

The trial of District Judge Thomas Carney is scheduled for April 6 in Harrisburg.

Full Article and Source:
PA Judge Faces Disciplinary Trial in Road Rage

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PA Judge Facing Disciplinary Trial for Road Rage Incident

'Gloves are Off' in Estate Battle

When San Antonio businessman and philanthropist Leo Block, 94, died at home Aug. 31, 2009, he left behind a new wife, at least $15 million in assets and troubling questions about the last chapter of his life.

Among the uncertainties were why the confirmed bachelor had married suddenly late in life without telling his family and why he — or others — had quickly begun making radical changes in his will, estate plan and investments.

Also unclear was how he met Erma Holman, 71, a local bail bond company owner whom he married in July 2008, and Stephen Boyd, a lawyer who twice was disciplined for ethical lapses in the late 1990s.

Some answers are emerging in bitter litigation in Bexar County Probate Court No. 1, where in November 2009 Block family members filed suit, accusing Erma Holman Block, Boyd and others of fleecing a muddled old man.

“Sadly, by the time of his death, Leo Block had truly become the ‘poster child' for elder abuse and exploitation,” reads the lawsuit filed by Block's sister Betty Simmons and her two children, who until 2008 had stood to inherit almost all of Block's wealth.

Their suit seeks to overturn Leo Block's final will, created just months after his wedding, which gave the bulk of his assets to Erma Block and three charities.

It claims that soon after the marriage, Boyd and Erma Block began to “strip” Leo Block of his wealth while isolating him from his family.

Full Article and Source:
'Gloves are Off' in Estate Battle

Block Estate Battle Set for May

After learning that settlement talks had failed in a contentious suit involving San Antonio businessman Leo Block, Bexar County Probate Judge Polly Spencer ordered both sides to get ready for a May trial.

The judge on Thursday did not rule on a request by the defendants to lift a freeze she had imposed on eight valuable properties acquired with Block's money. They appear to be all that remains of Block's once considerable wealth.

“The assets of Leo Block have been wasted by Erma Block and Stephen Boyd. All we are trying to do is keep the few remaining assets from being wasted,” argued Linda McDonald, representing the plaintiffs, in asking Spencer to keep the freeze in place.

Block, 94, had made his fortune through Block Distributing, a San Antonio beer and wine wholesaler, now known as Republic Distributing.

But his last two years were tumultuous. In July 2008, Block, a lifelong bachelor, married Erma Holman, 71, owner of a local bail bond company. He also retained Stephen Boyd, a lawyer twice disciplined in the 1990s for ethical lapses.

And before Block died in August 2009, he or someone else made a series of radical changes in his will, estate plan and investments. His sister Betty Simmons and her two children were replaced as primary beneficiaries by his new wife and three charities.

In November 2009, Block's relatives sued, seeking to overturn that will, claiming Erma and Boyd had victimized a demented old man, by systematically “stripping” Block of his wealth.

Both Erma and Boyd have issued categorical denials. But the two are now at each other's throats.

Full Article and Source:
Judge Sets May Trial in Block Estate Battle

Allegations of Faked Will, Crumbling Finances Dog Prominent Lawyer

The death last year of colorful Mobile County lawyer Joseph Brunson touched off a legal fight that has included accusations that another prominent local attorney helped create a phony will.

In a little more than a month, Mobile lawyer Richard Horne has been repudiated by a jury reviewing the will; has been hit with a $159,000 civil judgment over a loan default; has filed for bankruptcy protection and, as of last week, faces an ethics complaint made to the state bar.

It is a shocking turn for a man who has been a respected member of the city's legal community for years, once serving on the bar's ethics committee. His high-profile clients over the years have included former Orange Beach Mayor Steve Russo and former Prichard Mayor Jesse Norwood.

Horne, a longtime friend of Brunson who helped the attorney get his law license back after a federal drug conviction, said the state bar's confidentiality rules prohibit him from commenting.

The bar complaint, made by the stepfather of the women who contested the will in Mobile County Probate Court, accuses Horne of perjury and accessory to forgery. He has 14 days to respond.

The will listed Judy Harold - Brunson's "companion and life-long friend" - as administrator and sole beneficiary of his estate. Horne and Pauline Phillips, who worked for the company that owned the building that housed Horne's law practice, were listed as witnesses. Horne's secretary, Megan Graham, notarized the document.

Full Article and Source:
Allegations of Faked Will, Crumbling Finances
Dog Prominent Mobile lawyer