North Country Gazette



Jack Thompson Among Six Florida Attorneys Disbarred

Posted on Monday, 1 of December , 2008 at 1:57 pm

TALLAHASSEE—Controversial Coral Gables attorney John (Jack) Bruce Thompson is among the 23 attorneys who have been disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court.

 

Thompson, who has crusaded against pornography and violence in video games has been permanently disbarred without leave to apply for readmission, effective 30 days from a Sept. 25 court order. He was admitted to practice in 1977.

 

Thompson is charged with extensive misconduct and a complete lack of remorse, according to the court oder.  In five separate cases over a three-and-a-half year period, Thompson engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.

The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders has disciplined 23 attorneys, disbarring six, suspending 13 and placing six on probation. Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Four attorneys were reprimanded.

As an official agency of the Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar and its Department of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the 84,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida.

 

Since Aug. 1, 2007, case files have been posted to attorneys’ individual Florida Bar profiles and may be reviewed at and/or downloaded from The Florida Bar’s Web site, www.floridabar.org.

The following lawyers are disciplined.  Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline.

Richard W. Bassett, 8278 Bermuda Sound Way, Boynton Beach, to receive a public reprimand from The Florida Bar’s Board of Governors at a date and time to be determined by the board, following a Sept. 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2001) While representing defendants, Bassett sent a letter to the plaintiffs, who were not represented by counsel, threatening to bring criminal charges if they did not settle. The matter was referred to The Florida Bar by the presiding judge.


Jeffrey A. Blau, 213 E. Davis Blvd., Tampa, suspended for 90 days, effective 30 days from a Sept. 11 court order. Upon reinstatement, Blau is further placed on probation for three years. (Admitted to practice: 1978)
In December 2006, Blau was arrested after police found small amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his car and law office desk.

Ronald Wayne Davis, 505 N Baylen St. Apt. 4, Pensacola, suspended for 90 days, effective retroactive to June 11, 2008, following an Oct. 8 court order. Davis is further placed on probation for three years. (Admitted to practice: 1986) In January 2004, Davis pleaded no contest to two felony counts of possession of cocaine and two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance without prescription. He was also found guilty of one misdemeanor first offense of Driving Under the Influence and sentenced to 11 months and 15 days in jail.


Brook Eugene Fisher, 400 N. Flagler Drive, Suite B., West Palm Beach, suspended until further order of the Court, effective immediately, following a Sept. 22 emergency order. (Admitted to practice: 1990) According to the petition for emergency suspension, Fisher appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating client trust funds or property. Fisher’s trust account had significant and ongoing shortages throughout a Florida Bar 18-month audit, ranging from $78,492.72 to $463,301.98.

Eric D. Hightower, 805 Belvedere Road, Suite 2, West Palm Beach, suspended until further order of the Court, effective immediately, following a Sept. 22 emergency order. (Admitted to practice: 1988) According to the petition for emergency suspension, Fisher appeared to be causing great public harm by converting and or misappropriating client funds. A Florida Bar compliance audit found that Hightower had persistent trust account shortages during a Florida Bar 12-month audit, ranging from $4,880 to $20,583.


Jeffrey Merrill Leukel, 119 W. 16th St., Sanford, suspended until further order following an Oct. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1986) Leukel was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 12 months probation and 100 hours of community service for a DUI charge. In another instance, he accepted $1,000 toward his fee to represent a client and neglected to do so. Finally, after requesting the hearing time, Leukel failed to appear in court to represent a client.


Peter Randel Mayer, 4921 Southfork Drive, Suite 3, Lakeland, to receive a public reprimand from The Florida Bar’s Board of Governors, following an Oct. 16 court order. Mayer is further placed on probation for two years, effective retroactive to Oct. 17, 2007. (Admitted to practice: 1979) In January 2006, Mayer was charged with battery, a first-degree misdemeanor. The charge was later dismissed after Mayer completed terms of a deferred prosecution agreement.


Adenet Medacier, 16229 Opal Creek Drive, Weston, disbarred for five years, effective 30 days from an Oct. 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1997)In numerous instances, Medacier failed to apply client trust fund money for its intended purpose and failed to maintain minimum trust account records.


Jessica Kathleen Miller, P.O. Box 3905, Holiday, disbarred for five years, retroactive to Jan. 15, 2008, following a Sept. 18 court order. In August 2007, Miller was arrested on a contempt of court charge for violating an order to appear. She had already violated two prior orders to appear on behalf of clients in a guardianship proceeding. In other instances, Miller failed to account for and deliver client trust funds and after being retained to represent several clients, she failed to do so and neglected to return the fees.


David Mogul, 2810 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Suite 102, Fort Lauderdale, suspended until further order of the Court, effective immediately, following an Oct. 3 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1983) According to the petition for emergency suspension, Mogul appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating client trust funds or property for his personal use. An audit determined he withdrew $110,349.53 from his trust account during the audit period, exceeding the total deposits of funds from personal sources by nearly $42,000.

 

Abad Perez, 4 Valley Road, Manalapan, N.J., suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from an Oct. 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1998) In February, Perez was suspended from the New Jersey Bar for 90 days for misconduct. In 2006, he was indicted for making false statements while under oath, discharged from his prosecutor position and admitted to a pretrial intervention program.


Jack Barry Phillips, 1501 Hornberger Ave., Roebling, N.J., suspended for three years, effective 30 days from an Oct. 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1999) Phillips was hired to represent clients in immigration matters and he failed to communicate with them, resulting in rulings against them.

Jacob Addington Rose, 1897 Palm Bach Lakes Blvd. Suite 202, West Palm Beach, to receive a public reprimand following an Oct. 8 court order. Rose is further placed on probation for one year, effective immediately. (Admitted to practice: 1976) In numerous instances, Rose neglected to handle cases for clients because of health reasons, but he failed to inform them.

John Robert Sawyer, P.O. Box 12771, Pensacola, suspended for 91 days, effective Oct. 31, following a Sept. 18 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) In July 2002, Sawyer was suspended for 90 days and placed on probation for two years. Subsequently, during that period, he consumed alcohol, in violation of his Florida Lawyers Assistance rehabilitation contract

Loel Seitel, 220 Riverside Blvd. No. 74, New York, N.Y., disbarred, retroactive to Oct. 22, 2007, following a Sept. 18 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1993) In September 2007, Seitel was found guilty of conspiracy to make a false statement, a felony, and sentenced to five months imprisonment, followed by two years probation and a fine of $30,000.

Steven M. Siegel, 2814 N. 46th Ave. Apt. H677, Hollywood, disbarred for five years, retroactive to April 24, following an Oct. 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995) In February, Siegel was found guilty of attempting to solicit a minor over the Internet, a felony.

 

Richard Brian Simring, 5400 LaGorce Drive, Miami Beach, suspended until further order of the Court, effective 30 days following a Sept. 9 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) Simring pled guilty in the U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering, a felony.

Adam Ira Skolnik, P.O. Box 670583, Coral Springs, to receive a public reprimand following a Sept. 11 court order. Skolnik is further placed on probation for three years. (Admitted to practice: 2004) In June 2007, Skolnik was hired to represent a client in a civil matter. He accepted a $1,000 legal fee but took little action in the case. Skolnik also failed to respond as required to The Florida Bar’s inquiries.


John Francis Tague III, 100 Marquand Ave., Bronxville, N.Y., suspended for two years, effective 30 days from an Oct. 16 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995) In August 2006, Tague, also a member of the New York Bar, was suspended from practicing law there for two years because of misconduct related to client funds.

Mario A. Ruiz De la Torre, P.O. Box 381413, Miami, suspended for 18 months, retroactive to Oct. 4, 2007, following an Oct. 16 court order. De la Torre is further placed on probation for three years following the suspension. (Admitted to practice: 1986) In March 2000, De la Torre pled no contest to five criminal charges, including two felonies. He failed to notify the Bar as required by Bar rules until August 2007.

 

Dewey Homer Varner Jr., 9320 Dundee Drive, suspended for one year, following a Sept. 25 order. (Admitted to practice: 1974) Varner voluntarily dismissed a client’s worker compensation case without informing him and falsely testified that he had the client’s authorization.


Thomas Green Watkins III, 5330 E. Palomino Road, Phoenix, Ariz., disbarred, effective 30 days from an Oct. 16 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1978) Watkins, also a member of the State Bar of Arizona, was disbarred in that state in February, 2007, due to a conflict of interest in a case in which he was a patent lawyer who also claimed to be an inventor.   12-01-08

Category: Courts, Florida

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