Grave Misconduct
An interlocutory suspension has been ordered by the Tribunal Hearing Division of the Law Society of Upper Canada of an attorney facing criminal charges
Mr. Houlahan (“the Lawyer”) was charged criminally with three counts of fraud or theft over $5,000 and one count of possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000. The allegations arise from his activities between 2003 and 2011 as a member of the committee that managed the operations of St. Patrick’s Parish Cemetery. It is alleged that the Lawyer failed to properly account for $365,870 of funds belonging to the Cemetery. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Lawyer actively opposed the Law Society motion but filed no material in his defence. He attended the hearing by telephone. The Law Society satisfied us that the criminal charges, supporting documentation and surrounding circumstances constitute reasonable grounds for believing there is a significant risk of harm to the public or the public interest in the administration of justice if an interlocutory suspension was not ordered.
The attorney was called to the Bar in 1969 and had served as judge.
Here, he was chair of a cemetery committee and is alleged to have engaged in criminal conduct in handling funds.
A forensic audit was performed
The Forensic Audit contains the following evidence:
a) From 2003 to 2011, the Lawyer was Chair of the Cemetery Committee.
b) The Lawyer was responsible for selling graves and for overseeing the legal, administrative and financial matters of the Cemetery.
c) The Lawyer and another Committee member had signing authority over Cemetery bank accounts but the Lawyer was alone responsible for authorizing and processing expense payments.
d) The Committee was required to provide annual financial audits to the Archdiocese but did not do so between 2003 and 2011.
e) The Committee made all financial decisions with no oversight. There was no reporting to the Archdiocese and only limited information was provided to the parish priest between 2003 and 2009.
f) The members of the Committee were volunteers.
g) The revenue of the Cemetery came from four sources: sale of internment rights for plots and columbarium niches; burial and related supplies and services; investment income; and donations…
The total of the unauthorized payments to the Lawyer and non-Committee members is $311,146.
In addition the Lawyer disbursed $44,600 to fellow Committee members plus a shed worth $3,500 to one of the members.
During the Lawyer’s tenure as Chair of the Committee, an additional $76,291 of sale proceeds and burial fees went missing, $4,654 of which the Lawyer reimbursed.
The financial shortcomings were discovered in 2011 after the new parish priest became aware of the reporting deficiencies.
As to suspension pending further proceedings
We are not satisfied that the Lawyer’s proposal to finish current client files by the end of May 2017 combined with his agreement not to take on any new files are sufficient to reduce the risk of harm to the public interest in the administration of justice. The charges against the Lawyer allege serious breaches of the public trust. There is compelling evidence, unchallenged at this stage, that he has misappropriated funds from the charity he served as a volunteer. Although he has pleaded not guilty before the courts, his failure to provide us with any evidence that would contextualize or possibly explain even some of his behaviour is telling.
We agree with the Law Society that there are reasonable grounds to believe there is a significant risk of harm to the public interest in the integrity of the legal profession and administration of justice if an interlocutory order suspending the Lawyer’s licence to practise is not made.
We allowed the Lawyer two weeks to complete the transfer of his remaining files and close his practice. There is no evidence of imminent danger to the public that requires an immediate suspension. The allegations against the Lawyer have not yet been proven and involve one volunteer position, albeit a long-standing one. There have been no allegations challenging his integrity otherwise. He has continued to practise without other complaints or incidents since 2012. The two weeks will also allow his clients an opportunity to obtain new counsel and for an orderly file transfer.
The Ottawa Sun reported on a plea in the criminal case.
A former small claims court deputy judge pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing a quarter of a million dollars from the Catholic church, admitting he used the money pilfered from the St. Patrick’s Church cemetery to pay his own personal bills.
Ottawa lawyer Ronald Houlahan was the chair of the St. Patrick’s Church Fallowfield cemetery committee when he wrote cheques from the cemetery account to pay off his own expenses, such as bills for his law office phone, secretarial services, insurance, cellular phone, cable TV and personal credit cards, an Ottawa court heard.
Is this a mortal or venial sin?
Mortal sins are ones that involve grave matters.
The question will not be resolved by either the criminal or disciplinary process. (Mike Frisch)