Racketeering suit names nearly 70 Miami lawyers

Overlawyered.com ^ | October 17, 2003 | Walter Olson

[friendly]

"Three years after more than 60 lawyers, county employees and medical professionals were arrested on charges of bilking Florida's Miami-Dade County out of millions of dollars through fraudulent personal injury claims, the county has filed a civil racketeering lawsuit against the accused perpetrators and others." In the 715-page complaint, Miami-Dade County charges that 85 defendants, including nearly 70 South Florida lawyers, were implicated in schemes in which "attorneys who filed personal injury lawsuits against the county paid kickbacks to county risk management employees in return for expedited and inflated settlements. Miami-Dade Police Director Carlos Alvarez has said that county claims adjusters typically received 10 percent of the settlements. The claims against the county generally involve slip and fall accidents on county property, injuries on county buses, accidents with county cars and false arrests." Defendants dispute some of the indictments as vague and untimely and point out that not all those sued had faced criminal charges earlier.

[friendly]

As Mario Puzo's Godfather said: "One of my lawyers with a briefcase can steal more than a thousand of my men with guns."

Much of the day to day machinations of evil lawyer industry is simply one gigantic racketeering scam. This is one story being reported, among millions of similar crimes that are never prosecuted, never reported.

[freeangel]

Aint free enterprise great?

[friendly]

Metro Dade County must be congratuated for its courageous stand against the horrific Florida shyster corruption problem.

[friendly]

The lawyer industry operates on anything BUT principles of free enterprise. It uses payoffs, kickbacks, and crooked (excuse me I meant "activist") judges.

[SengirV]

Ironic since they will claim that they couldn't have claims regulators becasue it wasn't in the budget.

[LasVegasMac]

Got something against lawyers, do ya?

just kidding....

LVM

[<1/1,000,000th%]

algore's lawyers are still in Florida?

[Scenic Sounds]

If they're guilty, string 'em up!!

[elbucko]

Much of the day to day machinations of evil lawyer industry is simply one gigantic racketeering scam...

Most of us do not fully realize just how much the lawyer trade impinges upon our lives. A great deal of our personal freedoms and our hard earned money are usurped by these parasites. In return, they make the claim that society would be "chaos" without them. Perhaps, perhaps not. But I would like to give it a try.

[friendly]

Put away 70 shysters and that is 70 less rat votes. The indictments must therefore be all Bush's fault!!!

[<1/1,000,000th%]

LOL!

[friendly]

The shysters have indeed stolen much of our personal liberty and vast amounts of our personal money. Time for a serious, serious revolution IMHO.

[Dante3]

Action should also be taken against lawyers, such as Feldman, who know their client is guilty yet go on to lie and accuse innocent people. O'Reilly tried to do something about Feldman -- there was a clear case of breaking the law. But then the prosecutor, of all people, in the Weserfield case said he was comfortable with Feldman's actions. Another case of the powerful protecting the powerful.

[Dante3]

Action should also be taken against lawyers, such as Feldman, who know their client is guilty yet go on to lie and accuse innocent people. O'Reilly tried to do something about Feldman -- there was a clear case of breaking the law. But then the prosecutor, of all people, in the Weserfield case said he was comfortable with Feldman's actions. Another case of the powerful protecting the powerful.

[TopQuark]

And who are you a socialist?

If so, what are you doing on this forum?

[TopQuark]

If you think that putting these words in one sentence makes sense, you are terribly mistaken.

[friendly]

You may be one of those clever lawyers. We are blessed by your brilliance. It must be glorious being a member of such a magnificent and honorable profession.

[Cultural Jihad]

Oh, my! We are losing the war on corruption, so therefore we ought to just legalize it! I am not pro-corruption, but rather I want corruption to be legal, safe, and rare. I am pro-choice! < /sarc >

[perfect stranger]

You missed the point.........

[Alberta's Child]

And He said, "Woe unto you lawyers also! for ye load men with burdens grievous to be borne and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers." -- Luke 11:46

"Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." -- Luke 11:52