Posted on 11/20/2007 6:10:03 PM PST by jdm
A former criminal defense lawyer, Perez-Olivo was disbarred three months ago after a judicial panel ruled that he had “repeatedly refused to return unearned funds or retainers to clients.”
Court records say Perez-Olivo bilked clients out of tens of thousands of dollars.
The lawyer, who had practiced law since 1980, had previously been accused of incompetence for forgetting a crucial part of his closing argument in defense of Elio Cruz, a waiter convicted of second-degree murder for fatally shooting his wife’s lover last year in a Manhattan subway station.
“There is a lot of other things that, honestly, I thought of that can’t think of right now,” Perez-Olivo told the jury before his client was convicted and sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.
A juror was dismissed after she wrote the judge a letter complaining about Perez-Olivo’s “weak, shoddy” performance.
******
Carlos Perez-Olivo was a lawyer with an intimate appreciation for the dark side of the law.
He specialized in criminal defense, standing up for more than 30 clients charged with murder. He represented the desperate and the violent: not only killers, but also drug dealers, fake doctors and illegal immigrants with minimal resources to pay for their defense.
Yet his understanding of the illicit was more than secondhand. In August, he was disbarred for misappropriating money from a client’s bail and other improprieties. In a damning passage from his disbarment order, a New York state court ruled his conduct had “adversely reflected on his fitness as a lawyer.”
The details might have been extracted from the very kind of murder cases that Mr. Perez-Olivo handled.
Three months ago, the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court took away Mr. Perez-Olivo’s license. The decision was based on complaints from four clients who accused him of misconduct that included misappropriating bail money, failing to file appeals and charging excessive fees.
The decision noted that Mr. Perez-Olivo was admonished in 1998 for similar misconduct, and that in November 2000 he forfeited his license to practice law in Puerto Rico, at a time “when he was facing disciplinary charges based upon allegations similar to those raised here.”
If I remember right, the cops/courts were closing in on him, so he committed suicide by killing himself (jumped off a bridge, I think).
And the detectives have access to what the perp says/or not) to the insurance company.
the guy may have co-operated with the insurance investigation..but not quite enough...the police may be trying to use the insurer as leverage to have the guy give 'just one more interview'
But as to observations on other cases, corporation’s will spend a million to avoid paying you a dollar, unless there is already a precedent there, and then the payout is generally established.
He he he, that caught my eye too...
“her [Hillary’s] flying buttress”
Heh, heh!
Of course, flying buttresses are what reinforce the stained glass walls of Notre Dame Cathedral. But in this case, that’s priceless!
Hillary’s Flying Buttress - what’s really underneath that asbestos paintsuit.
You have indeed added to the English lexicon.
;^)
Oops - I meant “pantsuit” not “paintsuit”.
But you know, there might be potential there, too.
;^)
“Two disbarred lawyers living in the same block.”
Well,assuming Mr.Perez-Olivo still lives on that street, he’s now the only one without an active license now. Clinton’s 5 year license suspension ended last January.
Justice cares.
The alibi is surely the bad karma that has moved in. Clinton Inc.
There is. They have a right to ask and you have a right not to anwer them.
They have the right to ask you anything they want about events surrounding your claim. You have to answer all of their questions if you want to get paid. If you refuse to answer, they can refuse to pay.
Yep. That is part of the business contract you freely agree to in exchange for the insurance company agreeing to be at financial risk for legitimate claims. Anybody that does not like the terms of the contract can simply decline to enter into it.
Dayummmmm. More members for the Clinton body count club. They obviously knew something.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.