>Rogue Lawyer Makes Smoron Probate Mess Even Messier

>It would be difficult to find a more dubious lawyer to represent you than Jacek Smigelski.

He’s been caught overcharging clients. He lied to a judge. He often fails to show up in court. There’s a long record of his habit of violating the Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers. He is facing a 15-month suspension of his law license.

Earlier this week a judge ordered him to come up with the nearly $300,000 he owes in connection with one of his client-scams — or face arrest on Feb. 28.

How does this rogue lawyer keep getting clients? How does he still have a law license?
Which might be the story, were it not for the fact that Smigelski is closely involved with the infamous Smoron Farm case in Southington, a tale that has taken another turn for the weird: Smigelski is now messing up a solution to this probate court outrage.

The Smoron Farm, you will recall, was given to longtime farmhand Sam Manzo under the will of Josephine Smoron, who died in 2009. But under the questionable oversight of former Southington Probate Judge Bryan Meccariello, Smoron’s estate was dramatically altered and a plan devised to funnel the coveted property into the hands of a local developer, Carl Verderame. Local planning officials even approved Verderame’s proposed sports center development, despite the fact that the land is still tied up in court.

Meccariello — who left office in disgrace to form (what else?) a probate consulting service — was censured by a state oversight panel for removing Manzo from the will. The lawyer who changed Smoron’s will, John Nugent, hired Smigelski to represent him in court and in mediation proceedings designed to clean up the mess that Meccariello created.

Instead, Smigelski has assisted Nugent in blocking a resolution that would allow Manzo to inherit the farm.

“I’m trying to figure out what he’s doing. I want to get this resolved,” said Hartford lawyer Elliot Gersten, who is representing Manzo.

Most observers agree that Smoron’s original will, which gives the farm to Manzo, should be adhered to. But Nugent and Smigelski are balking, using delaying tactics, filing motions and wasting court time, to block this sensible solution. Nugent, meanwhile, also faces disbarment proceedings for his role in the Manzo case.

Smigelski “knows he has certain rights within the system,” said William Sweeney, who represents Stanley and Kazimierz Kosiorek, two brothers who were charged outrageous fees by Smigelski in a case that dates to 2006. “He pushes those rights until the very end.”

Full Article and Source:
Rogue Lawyer Makes Probate Mess Even Messier

See Also:
CT: Probate Stench

>CT Probate Case About Far More Than Money

>Mary Gennotti, age 82, remarried her estranged husband in February 2009. At the time she was suffering from a brain tumor and advanced dementia. She signed her marriage license with an X. She would be dead within a month.

The odd ceremony was just part of a sequence of events involving his sister that didn’t make sense to New London retiree Robert Jetmore. Now he and Gennotti’s younger son, Robert, are trying to figure out what exactly happened to Mary.

They are hardly the only ones who are interested. A Connecticut author, Ron Winter, who has published a book called “Granny Snatching,” has blogged about the case. Articles critical of the probate system’s handling of it have appeared on several well-read Connecticut web sites. Additionally, the Office of the Attorney General is looking into the matter.

And it’s become something of a crusade for New Britain attorney Sally Roberts, who is representing Jetmore and Robert Genotti pro bono. “With greed in the family, when people die, the worst comes out,” Roberts said.

“There is an obvious stench about the whole matter,” Roberts said. “It does not pass the smell test.”

Full Article and Source:
Probate Case is About Far More Than Money

>Attorney’s Grievance Histories Now Public in Connecticut

>Maybe that one blemish on an otherwise lengthy, impeccable career had gone unnoticed up to this point. But when the new year began, that all changed.

Now, lawyers in Connecticut may want to try even harder to be on their best behavior.

That’s because the state Judicial Branch website now lists the juris histories of every lawyer admitted to the Connecticut bar. That history includes an attorney’s disciplinary record, if there is one.

Before, the web site simply said whether a lawyer licensed in Connecticut was active, suspended or retired.

“The primary purpose is to serve the general public so they can see if a lawyer has been disciplined,” said Michael P. Bowler, statewide bar counsel. “The public can call us and get this information anyway but now we’re putting it in a more user-friendly format.”

Full Article and Source:
Conn. Judicial Branch Website Now Lists Attorneys’ Grievance Histories

Connecticut Judicial Branch Website

>Retired Probate Judge Helped Many in Need

>Congratulations to Probate Judge Linda Salafia on her well-deserved retirement. I commend and am grateful to her for the professionalism and integrity she brought to the Norwich Probate Court.

In my dealings with her, both on a professional and personal basis, she always was understanding, compassionate, patient and helpful. Those traits permeated the court and were emulated by her staff.

Generally, when one seeks the help of probate it is at a difficult and emotional time. Also, most people do not have any experience in probate procedures and requirements, so one approaches the court with some trepidation. The Norwich Probate Court’s staff always made one feel at ease. They did not act bureaucratic and officious. They never lauded their power and authority over people. They were patient, kind and willing to take the time to explain and guide people through the required procedures. They made difficult situations less painful for countless individuals and families.

Judge Salafia can begin retirement with a great deal of pride in knowing that she did her job well and that the people of Norwich appreciate and are grateful for all she and her staff did to make their lives less stressful and more tolerable.
Relax and enjoy your grandchildren, your honor.

Source:
Retired Probate Judge Helped Many in Need

>Assisted Suicide or Granny Snatching?

>A Massachusetts man was charged with manslaughter in Connecticut last week, in what is being referred to as the assisted suicide, or mercy killing, of his Alzheimer’s afflicted father.

Remarkably, the commentary sections of the on-line versions of the news story quickly filled with remarks from outraged caregivers detailing the difficulties encountered in caring for elderly relatives, especially those who are in serious physical and mental decline and living a life of unending pain. The overwhelming attitude among the early comments was that the son had done his father an enormous and loving favor by helping him end his life through a combination of pills and alcohol.

But as the news media and elder activists erupted in a firestorm of debate over mercy killing in America, an elderly Canadian woman’s life also is on the line in a courtroom in Victoria, British Columbia, and no one except her family seems to give a damn. Nonetheless, the case of Kathleen Palamarek, whose sons want her confined to an institution while her daughter and son-in-law are fighting to free her, could well set an international precedent impacting the future of tens of millions of American and Canadian elderly citizens.

Full Article and Source:
Assisted Suicide or Granny Snatching: Liberty or Death?

>Convicted Embezzler is Charged Again With Theft

>Alan R. Jonas, 63, of New Britain, is charged with stealing $72,000 from an 83-year-old Manchester woman who has Alzheimer’s disease. Jonas had been appointed her conservator.

Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Shay told Superior Court Judge David P. Gold that Jonas is also under investigation for alleged thefts in Southington and New Britain.

According to the warrant for Jonas’ arrest, $107,507 was on hand when he was appointed conservator in March 2009. By February of this year, Jonas had vanished and his wife began divorce proceedings. On Monday, Jonas said he was “out of the country” at the time.

By February, the Manchester Probate Court removed Jonas as conservator and a new conservator determined that Jonas had written $72,000 in checks to himself, but failed to pay the nursing home where the woman lived, the warrant states. At the end of February, the nursing home was owed $65,000, but there was only $21,000 in the woman’s account.

In a series of e-mail exchanges with the new conservator, Jonas indicated a desire to repay the woman’s account and did send a $35,000 check that cleared the bank. A second check for $38,000 did not clear.

In a June 3 e-mail to the new conservator, Jonas wrote: “I feel terrible about this whole situation, and I would have never done this if I was not suffering from significant physiological issues. I am doing the best I can to resolve this, but I am begging you to please not push me too hard or I am worried it will result in my emotional collapse and then none of this will get resolved for a while and I don’t see any benefit to anyone in that.”

Full Article and Source:
Convicted Embezzler is Charged Again With Theft

>CT: Probate Stench

>The developer who signed a deal so he could acquire the lucrative Smoron Farm has gone to court to get the land.

Carl Verderame, a Southington developer, signed a deal to buy the Smoron Farm from three local churches under a scheme engineered by John Nugent, who was supposed to be looking after the interests of the elderly and dying Josephine Smoron.

Smoron’s will handed the farm to her longtime caretaker, Sam Manzo. He has no interest in selling the farm to Verderame, a well-connected Southington developer who does business as Central Connecticut Contracting.

Without telling Smoron and Manzo, Nugent changed Smoron’s estate, leaving the old farm long I-84 near Queen Street to three local churches along with the contract to sell the farm to Verderame.

Verderame’s contract to buy the land for $1.5 million was never approved by probate court, which is required by law.

The case is now before judges in Superior and Probate courts. The original probate judge in the case, Bryan Meccariello, withdrew from his re-election race after he was sanctioned by a judicial oversight panel. Nugent faces possible disbarment.

Source:
Probate Stench: Developer Suing Over Smoron Farm

See Also:
Smoron Farm Probate Mess Slowly Cleaning Up

>Smoron Farm Probate Mess Slowly Cleaning Up

>Gradually, the mess surrounding the Smoron Farm in Southington – where a probate judge and court-appointed conservator attempted to subvert the will of an elderly woman – is getting cleaned up.

A state grievance panel has found probable cause in a complaint filed by Sam Manzo, the caretaker who was supposed to inherit Josphine Smoron’s farm until John Nugent, the conservator, and Bryan Meccariello, the judge, engineered a deal that funneled the lucrative parcel of land to a local developer.

This sordid case is the latest example of why we need to keep a closer watch on both our probate judges and the lawyers they appoint as conservators.

This poor woman’s will was effectively nullified without her ever being consulted by her lawyer. Meccariello, when he approved the changes, held a court hearing where he was the only one present. Smoron died shortly after Meccariello’s decision in the case.

In a decision released Wednesday, the grievance panel found that Nugent failed to ever meet with Josephine Smoron, even though he was her court-appointed conservator in charge of all her finances. He changed the will to make three local churches the beneficiaries of Smoron’s estate and then made a deal with a developer to acquire the land.

According to the grievance committee’s finding, there is probable cause that Nugent violated a number of rules of professional conduct for lawyers, including “failure to abide by a client’s decisions” and a failure to “attempt to ascertain information necessary for proper representation” and failure “to protect the client.”

Full Article and Source:
Smoron Farm Probate Mess Slowly Cleaning Up

See Also:
Editorial: Impeachment Clearly Called for in Probate Case

>Probable Cause Attorney Engaged in Unprofessional Conduct

>An investigative panel for the Statewide Grievance Commmittee found probable cause that local attorney John T. Nugent engaged in unprofessional conduct while handling the estate of Josephine Smoron.

Nugent was Smoron’s conservator when she died in June 2009. Shortly before he death, Nugent created two trusts that effectively disinherited Sam Manzo, an heir named in a 2004 will. Manzo filed the grievance complaint.

The panel, which is part of the state Judicial Branch, found that Nugent broke five conduct rules; never meeting Smoron, not reviewing the probate court files, and failure to consider her wishes.

A hearing on the matter before the full panel will be scheduled.

Source:
Judicial Panel Rules Against Nugent in Smoron Case

See Also:
CT: Judge Bryan Meccariello Faces Judicial Misconduct Charges

Grievance Panel Finding of Probable Cause in Complaint # 10-0744

>NY Woman Accused of Embezzling $90K

>A 40-year-old New York state woman accused of embezzling $90,000 from an elderly Suttons Bay man was arrested last week in Connecticut.

Gina Miller was arrested on a warrant issued by county Prosecutor Joseph T. Hubbell for bilking funds from a county resident who believed her friend needed a liver transplant. The story was made up.

Miller has waived extradition, which means Hubbell can start the process of bringing her to Leelanau to answer these charges. He did not know when Miller will be transported.

Court documents show she had experience in taking money from vulnerable people. Miller was convicted in the Queens County Court, New York City, of first degree scheming to defraud in 2003, and of grand larceny on June 14 of this year.

Hopefully, the case will serve as notice to older residents and their families that predators are ready to take advantage if an opening is presented, according to Det. Clint Kerr, who investigated the Leelanau case.

“Don’t just give your money to people, especially people you don’t know very well,” Kerr said.

Miller is charged with three counts of using false pretenses to obtain $20,000 or more from a vulnerable adult, and two counts of conspiracy to commit false pretenses of $20,000 or more from a vulnerable adult. The felony charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000 or three times the value of the amount taken, which ever is greater. Hubbell also is a seeking habitual offender third offense charge, which if included on a plea or sentence of guilty would double the penalties.

Full Article and Source:
NY Woman Accused of Taking $90,000