A Criminal Throughout

The New Jersey Supreme Court has imposed a three year suspension of an attorney convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The crimes involved income derived from a business that involve the repair and resell of amusement and gaming-machine components.

The crimes were committed in concert with two admitted attorneys, Bagdis and Klein. Bagdis employed Klein, who also was suspended for three years.

The criminal activity began before the attorney entered law school and continued into his legal career.

The Disciplinary Review Board noted

In respondent’s case, the sentencing judge found significant aggravating factors that led him to impose a harsher custodial sentence on respondent. Specifically, respondent had not assisted the federal authorities in their investigation of Bagdis. Moreover, respondent waited until two weeks before his trial to “come clean.” Respondent also engaged in repeated criminal acts with every paycheck that he received, for years on end, while attending law school, during an internship in the Camden County Prosecutor’s office, when serving a judicial clerkship, and, finally, as a newly licensed, practicing attorney…

While both respondent and Klein engaged in criminal activity for more than eight years, we find respondent’s actions to be more egregious, because his plan to deceive the government had already taken root and became an integral part of his life as he honed his attorney skills in law school, the internship with a prosecutor’s office, and a judicial clerkship.

If an attorney is engaged in criminal activity throughout his entire career, I would think that would logically result in disbarment.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered a five-year suspension for the misconduct.

The court here agreed with the DRB that the attorney should not get credit for time served since his Pennsylvania suspension.

So far as I can tell, the disciplinary case was predicated solely on the conviction. I would think there must also have been concealment of the unfavorable character information in the admissions process. (Mike Frisch)