Court Roundup

Maryland Lawyer's license suspended after client's murder BALTIMORE (AP) - A Baltimore County attorney who inadvertently shared information that led to a client's murder has agreed to an indefinite suspension of his law license, court records show. Larry Feldman, who's been an attorney for 17 years, acknowledged violating Maryland's rules of conduct for lawyers when he told a suspect in a check fraud scheme that prosecutors needed to speak with Isiah Callaway about the case. Prosecutors say the suspect, Tavon Davis, then hired a hit man for $2,000 and had Callaway killed in 2011. Davis is serving 35 years in prison stemming from the killing. The man convicted of killing Callaway, Bruce Byrd, is serving a 40-year prison term. Feldman's license will be suspended starting Saturday, The Baltimore Sun reported. Feldman has said he had no idea Davis was a suspect in the check fraud scheme when he asked after Callaway, a suspect in the same case. Davis had previously hired Feldman to represent Callaway. Additionally, Callaway and Davis referred to each other as brothers, and Callaway had insisted that Davis sit in on one meeting with Feldman, according to documents from the Attorney Grievance Commission. But in federal criminal proceedings, Davis testified that Feldman joked about having Callaway killed, suggesting that Davis could "send him to Costa Rica or get rid of him the Sicilian way." Callaway's family sued Feldman, arguing that the attorney had been fully informed of the check fraud scheme and that Davis had told him that he wanted to be insulated from criminal liability. Feldman later agreed to a substantial settlement in the case, according to grievance commission documents. Terms of the settlement are confidential. Federal authorities said there was no evidence to warrant charges against Feldman. Pennsylvania DA: May be illegal for mayor to give money to staff PITTSBURGH (AP) - The district attorney says it may have been illegal for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto to give money to city employees as part of his appearance on the CBS show "Undercover Boss." Peduto pledged to give $155,000 to four needy city employees during his appearance on the show last month. Peduto has said the money will come from private donors, though at least one agency - VisitPittsburgh - gets some of its money from taxpayers. But Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala tells KDKA-TV - the local CBS affiliate - that if any of the money came from tax dollars, the gifts could be illegal. He says the salaries of public employees are negotiated and the mayor cannot just give them a bonus. The mayor insists the gifts are legal, but Zappala says the state Ethics Commission is also investigating. New York Man gets up to 63 years in prison for financial fraud RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) - A New York man has been sentenced to decades behind bars for a land investment fraud that cheated clients out of their retirement savings. Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota (SPOH'-tuh) says Paul White of Huntington, New York got a sentence of 21 to 63 years Thursday. The court also ordered White to pay seven victims a total of $2.9 million. The DA says White conned investors by promising lucrative federal tax benefits in commercial real estate transactions. White claimed to be a financial adviser operating under the name of Professional Investment Advisor Inc. Instead of investing the victims' money, the DA says White "financed a comfortable lifestyle" for himself. Maine Judge dismisses stabbed pregnant woman's lawsuit BANGOR, Maine (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the state of Maine by a pregnant mental health worker who was stabbed by a patient at the state-run Riverview Psychiatric Center. Jamie Hill-Spotswood argued in the suit that less than a week before the March 2013 attack she told the assistant director of nursing at the Augusta hospital that she was 18 weeks pregnant and felt unsafe because there was no security on the floor where she worked, which was occupied by violent patients. The Portland Press Herald reports that a judge Thursday rejected Hill-Spotswood's claims that the state had failed to protect her, saying that her attacker created the danger, not the state. Published: Mon, Feb 02, 2015