Illinois Supreme Court disbars 9 lawyers, suspends 21 in latest disciplinary filing

 
The Supreme Court of Illinois announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on Sept. 12, 2014, during the September Term of Court. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

DISBARRED

• Paul M. Daugerdas, Wilmette

Mr. Daugerdas, who was licensed in 1974, was disbarred on consent after he was found guilty of federal charges of tax evasion, mail fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstructing tax laws. He was sentenced to a 15-year term of imprisonment.

• Norton Helton, Chicago

Mr. Helton, who was licensed in 1993, was disbarred on consent. He was convicted of bankruptcy and wire fraud in federal court and was sentenced to a prison term of 180 months and ordered to make $3,277,475 in restitution. He participated in a scheme to obtain money from homeowners facing foreclosure by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and material omissions.

• Clarence Contee Jones, Jr., Tacoma, Wash.

Mr. Jones was licensed in Illinois in 1994 and in Washington in 1997. He was disbarred in Washington for sexually exploiting office staff over whom he had supervisory authority. He also entered guilty pleas to four misdemeanor counts of assault in the fourth degree with sexual motivation. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and disbarred him.

• Grant Dongjin Kang, Washington, Mo.

Mr. Kang, who was licensed in 1992, was disbarred on consent. He misappropriated money that clients advanced to him to pay patent application fees and costs, causing the applications to become abandoned. In addition, he did not respond to multiple inquiries from his clients as to the status of their applications and did not respond to client requests for copies of their files.

• Brian P. Lee, Wheaton

Mr. Lee, who was licensed in 1998, was disbarred on consent. He pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge after he knowingly devised and participated in a scheme to obtain money from an elderly couple in San Diego County, California, through false and fraudulent pretenses.

• David Michael Levin, Deerfield

Mr. Levin, who was licensed 1974, was disbarred. He practiced law while suspended for misconduct and also misappropriated $24,000 in client settlement funds.

• James Geoffrey McGowan, Geneva

Mr. McGowan, who was licensed in 1986, was disbarred on consent. He failed to maintain client funds separate from his own property and misappropriated almost $50,000 of client or lienholder funds for his own purposes.

• Lino John Menconi, Schaumburg

Mr. Menconi, who was licensed in 1991, was disbarred. He misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from a number of different clients, including his elderly and ailing aunt and uncle. He was suspended on an interim basis on November 13, 2013.

• Thomas William Murphy, Chicago

Mr. Murphy, who was licensed in 1977, was disbarred. He misappropriated $296,453 in trust funds, misappropriated another $325,000 in funds from two real estate transactions, and engaged in a conflict of interest. He was suspended on an interim basis on May 12, 2014.

SUSPENDED

• Alan Wadsworth Applebee, Jacksonville

Mr. Applebee, who was licensed in 1973, was suspended for four months. He failed to inform his client of a settlement offer in a matter and then, in the same case, filed a motion to reconsider and an appeal contrary to the client’s direction and without the client’s knowledge. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014.

• Anthony Bergamino, Jr., Chicago

Mr. Bergamino, who was licensed in 1988, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. He was found guilty in state court of criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse.

• Robert Bless, Arlington Heights

Mr. Bless, who was licensed in 2004, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. An ARDC hearing panel had earlier recommended that he be suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. He had a sexual relationship with a client and then financially exploited the client to his advantage.

• Nicholas B. Carter, St. Louis, Mo.

Mr. Carter was licensed in both Illinois and Missouri in 1990. He was suspended indefinitely in Missouri with no leave to apply for reinstatement for two years, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of conditional probation. He used client trust account funds to pay personal expenses, commingled personal funds with client funds, provided financial assistance to clients in connection with pending or contemplated litigation, and advanced settlement proceeds to clients while waiting for the insurance companies to tender settlement checks. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline for two years, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of conditional probation.

• Cary Laurence Chickerneo, Prospect Heights

Mr. Chickerneo, who was licensed in 1986, was suspended for five months. He represented a group, of which he was a member, in the acquisition of a business that planned to operate several automobile dealerships. In connection with the closing of a loan transaction related to that purchase, he falsely assured the lender that the documentation it had received was complete, although he had not included a recently-revised operating agreement that had not been signed by one member of the group. Later, when a dispute arose between group members over the operation of the business, Mr. Chickerneo and others used the unsigned agreement as part of an effort to expel another member of the group. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014.

• Bernard James Conway, Chicago

Mr. Conway, who was licensed in 1987, was suspended for 18 months and until further order of the Court. He neglected a mortgage foreclosure case for one client and a breach of contract matter for another client. He failed to appear at his own disciplinary hearing.

• James DiChristofano, Harwood Heights

Mr. DiChristofano, who was licensed in 2004, was suspended for 30 days and ordered to complete the ARDC Professionalism Seminar. He converted $3,021.10 that a client gave him to pay to an attorney who had earlier performed services for the client. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014.

• Karim G. Dure, Evanston

Mr. Duré, who was licensed in 1999, was suspended in 2013 for one year and until he made certain restitution. He represented three different homeowners, all of whom were having difficulty paying their mortgage, in an effort to either modify the client’s mortgage terms and/or defend against a foreclosure action. In each instance, he received fees, but then failed to communicate with the clients, defend against any foreclosure action, or return unearned fees following the termination of his services. Because he did not comply with certain terms of his suspension, he has now been suspended until he complies with those terms of suspension and until further order of the Court.

• Michael J. Duval, Kankakee

Mr. Duval, who was licensed in 2007, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court and until he pays certain restitution. He closed his law practice without notifying clients, neglected several matters, failed to communicate with clients, and did not return unearned fees.

• John Edward Farrell, Park Ridge

Mr. Farrell, who was licensed in 1976, was suspended for three years and until further order of the Court. In in his capacity as Chief of the DeKalb State’s Attorney’s Civil Division, and at one point while acting as the Interim State’s Attorney of DeKalb County, he neglected several matters and made false statements to a court, opposing counsel, and the ARDC regarding his family members’ purported illnesses or death.  

• Guy D. Geleerd, Jr., Chicago

Mr. Geleerd, who was licensed in 1989, was suspended for one year, with the suspension stayed after six months by conditional probation. He failed to preserve the identity of client funds, made misrepresentations about the status of those funds to his client, and delayed returning the money to his clients. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014.

• Henry Elbert Graper, III, Anchorage, Alaska

Mr. Graper was licensed in Illinois in 1994 and in Alaska in 1998. He was suspended in Alaska for at least three years and until he completes his probation from a criminal conviction. He was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of an accident, and felony assault. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for three years and until he is reinstated in Alaska. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014.

• Charles William Helmig, Peru

Mr. Helmig, who was licensed in 1964, was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court. The ARDC Hearing Board earlier recommended that he be suspended for three years for allegedly misappropriating more than $95,000 from an incompetent elderly woman who was a double amputee confined to a nursing home. The Board also found that he failed to act with reasonable diligence and promptness after the woman’s nursing home initiated an involuntary transfer proceeding due to Mr. Helmig’s failure to timely pay the nursing home expenses.

• Tina Marie Jacobs, Chicago

Ms. Jacobs, who was licensed in 1985, was suspended for 60 days. She created a false document that purported to show that she had complied with a statutory requirement to notify defendants in a foreclosure case of the availability of a thirty-day period to obtain housing counseling. She attached that document to a pleading she filed in court. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014.

• Robert Little, Memphis, Tenn.

Mr. Little was licensed in California in 1995 and in Illinois in 1996. He was suspended in California for three years, with the suspension stayed by a three-year period of probation subject to conditions, including a condition that he be suspended for the first two years of his probation. He was convicted of identity theft and making false and derogatory remarks of a sexual nature about his supervisor and others on the internet. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for two years and until he is reinstated in California. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014.

• Matthew John McDonald, Chicago

Mr. McDonald, who was licensed in 2006, was ordered suspended in early 2014 for two years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after sixty days by a two-year period of conditional probation. He neglected a civil matter, failed to be candid with his client about the true status of that matter, and created a purported court in order to deceive his law firm partner about the status of the litigation. Because he failed to comply with the terms of his probation, he was suspended for the remainder of his suspension and until further order of the Court.

• Thomas McGrath O'Connor, Wheaton

Mr. O’Connor, who was licensed in 1999, was suspended for two years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed in its entirety by a two-year period of conditional probation. He was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to comply with the conditions of supervision imposed following that conviction, resulting in additional court proceedings and his eventual resentencing. The misconduct stemmed from alcohol dependence, for which he has received appropriate treatment.

• Alexander Pechenik, Homewood

Mr. Pechenik, who was licensed in 2005, was ordered suspended in 2012 for two years and until further order of the Court, with the suspension stayed after sixty days by a two-year period of probation with conditions. He neglected four different civil matters. Because he failed to comply with the terms of his probation, he was suspended for the remainder of his suspension and until further order of the Court.

• Kevin R. Peters, Chicago

Mr. Peters, who was licensed in 1983, was suspended for 30 days. He knowingly misappropriated $1,317 from a client’s settlement proceeds. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014.

• Jeffrey S. Ryan, Brechenridge, Colo.

Mr. Ryan was licensed in Illinois in 1985 and in Colorado in 1993. He was suspended in Colorado for at least nine months, after which he must apply for reinstatement, after he was convicted of criminal trespass and driving under the influence of alcohol. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for nine months and until he is reinstated in Colorado. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014.

• Samuel Vazanellis, Highland, Ind.

Mr. Vazanellis, who was licensed in 2005, was suspended for 30 days. He represented clients in at least 16 different matters in Illinois, including 14 criminal cases, after he had been removed from the Master Roll of Attorneys for failing to register. The suspension is effective on October 3, 2014. 

REPRIMANDED

• Mary Albert-Fritz, Decorah, Iowa

Ms. Albert-Fritz was licensed in Missouri in 1981 and in Illinois in 1982. She was reprimanded in Missouri for providing financial assistance to a client in connection with a custody modification action and for frivolously defending and controverting issues in a proceeding. A court found that her strategy and argument in the latter matter was directly responsible for an increase in the number of trial days. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded her.

• Jacqueline Elise Kalk, Minneapolis, Minn.

Ms. Kalk was licensed in Illinois in 1993 and in Minnesota in 2009. She was reprimanded in Minnesota for making a false statement to a court in connection with her own adoption matter. She filed an affidavit with the court in which she falsely stated that she did not know how to contact her ex-husband, the father of the children she was seeking to adopt. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded her.   

• Peter J. Kovac, Milwaukee, Wis.

Mr. Kovac was licensed in both Illinois and Wisconsin in 1973. He was reprimanded in Wisconsin for not competently representing a client in a criminal appeal, failing to properly communicate with clients, representing a client after a conflict of interest arose, and not cooperating with the disciplinary authority concerning several investigations. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal disciple and reprimanded him.

• John C. Torjesen, Los Angeles, Calif.

Mr. Torjesen was licensed in Illinois in 1987 and in California in 1989. He was reprimanded and placed on a one-year period of conditional probation in California for failing to keep a client informed that the client’s case had been dismissed, and for failing to provide a timely accounting of rents he had collected and expenses he had paid on behalf of another client. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and reprimanded him.

• Alan Kent Wittig, Queen Creek, Az.

Mr. Wittig was licensed in Illinois in 1992 and in Arizona in 1997. He was admonished and placed on a one-year period of conditional probation for entering into a business transaction with a client without obtaining the necessary writing regarding the transaction and for failing to promptly render a full accounting to the client. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline, reprimanded him, and placed him on a one-year period of conditional probation, nunc pro tunc.

CENSURED

• Charles R. Garnati, Marion

Mr. Garnati, who was licensed in 1978, was censured. He made improper and racially-based opening and closing arguments during his prosecution of a murder case.

• Douglas W. Lohmar, Jr., Chicago

Mr. Lohmar, who was licensed in 1987, was censured. He deposed the opposing party in a federal lawsuit despite having been notified by that party’s attorney that the attorney had not agreed to produce his client for the deposition.