Stabbing Draws Disbarment

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicia Court accepted an attorney’s resignation

The respondent’s affidavit of resignation was accepted, and he was disbarred, based on his October 2022 Rhode Island state court convictions for one count of felony assault and/ or battery and one count of disorderly conduct. The convictions stemmed from an altercation in which the respondent stabbed an individual in the chest with a knife. After
being found guilty by a jury, he was sentenced to five years in prison with two years to serve and three years of probation with mental health counseling.

The respondent was previously indefinitely suspended in April 2005 for unrelated misconduct involving converting the settlement funds of four separate clients. Matter of Barrese, 21 Mass. Att’y Disc. R. 30 (2005). He was reinstated in July 2010. Matter of Barrese, 26 Mass. Att’y Disc. R. 29 (2010). On November 10, 2023, he was temporarily suspended pending the outcome of these disciplinary proceedings.

The respondent’s affidavit of resignation came before the Board at its September 2024 meeting, when the Board voted to recommend that the Court accept the resignation and disbar the respondent, retroactive to November 10, 2023, the date of his temporary suspension. On September 25, 2024, the Court, (Wendlandt, J.) so ordered.

(Mike Frisch)