In re Mogil

250 A.D.2d 343, 682 N.Y.S.2d 70, 1998 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 13540
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedDecember 16, 1998
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 250 A.D.2d 343 (In re Mogil) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Mogil, 250 A.D.2d 343, 682 N.Y.S.2d 70, 1998 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 13540 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Per Curiam.

In this proceeding, the respondent was served with a petition containing six charges of professional misconduct.

After a hearing, the Special Referee sustained all six charges. The Grievance Committee now moves to confirm the Special Referee’s report and to impose such discipline as the Court deems just and proper. The respondent moves to confirm the Special Referee’s report and to consider the evidence proffered in mitigation.

Charge One alleged that the respondent engaged in conduct adversely reflecting on his fitness to practice law, in violation of Code of Professional Responsibility DR 1-102 (A) (8) (22 NYCRR 1200.3 [a] [8]).

On or about January 14, 1994, the respondent anonymously sent or caused to be sent to Thomas Liotti a letter signed by the “Wyatt Earp Association” which, inter alia, referred to Liotti as a “Donkey-turd” who thinks of himself as a “defensive superstar”, criticized Liotti for a recent speech he had made, called him a “motormouth”, alleged certain personal and unprofessional activities by Liotti in Denver, called him a “traffic court jerk” and a “Laughing-Stock”, referred to his “idiotic and laughable brickbat letters sent behind our backs”, asked whether Liotti’s family or Newsday or “disciplinary commissions” would like to learn about his “Bimbos and Feds and threats” in Denver, and warned that “People in glass houses should be very careful”.

On or about January 29, 1994, the respondent anonymously sent or caused to be sent to Liotti a two-page facsimile, the first page of which was written in German and referred to him as a “Motormund”. The second page purported to be a “Certificate of Upgrade to Complete Asshole”, signed by ‘Wyatt Earp”.

On or about March 3, 1994, the respondent anonymously sent or caused to be sent to Liotti a one-page facsimile from “A Long Islander”, which, inter alia, referred to Liotti’s “mug” in the newspaper “with your baby killer and translator”, asked whether the Newsday photographer knew when to show up because of a “leak” to the press; and asked whether “trying your case in the press and getting yourself publicity” isn’t “unethical”.

In or about mid-March 1994, the respondent anonymously sent or caused to be sent to Liotti an envelope containing a [345]*345phone number of the Central Intelligence Agency, a leprechaun decal, and various pills in several sizes. The respondent also sent Liotti a one-page letter with business card bearing his name and the labels “Superstar” and “Have Mouth, Will Travel”. The letter informed Liotti that the mock business card would be in the hands of every lawyer in Nassau County and that it was printed in Virginia.

In or about late March 1994, the respondent anonymously sent or caused to be sent to Liotti a letter which referred to a Newsday photograph of Liotti with clients and which stated, “Do you see how easy it is to disappear from the face of the earth?”.

On or about May 2, 1994, the respondent anonymously sent or caused to be sent to Liotti a one-page facsimile which referred to him as a “putz” and included decal representations of the American flag and the Tazmanian Devil cartoon character.

On or about June 16, 1994, the respondent sent to Liotti a signed “RSVP” for the annual golf outing of the Criminal Courts Bar Association (hereinafter the Bar Association) which included handwritten comments such as “I wouldn’t miss this night for the world!” and representations identical to those noted in the May 2, 1994 correspondence. At a Bar Association-sponsored dinner on June 23, 1994, the respondent distributed a four-page statement entitled “13 Suggestions for ‘Confrontational’ or Intentionally Offensive Criminal Defense Attorneys”, which included references to “19th Century Tombstone, Arizona”, medications, and attorneys who consider themselves “superstars”, and which threatened attorneys for “grossly contrived complaints” against the judiciary.

On or about June 24, 1994, the respondent sent Liotti a two-page facsimile which, inter alia, contained an advertisement for the movie “Wyatt Earp”, a signed handwritten message stating that “Earp was a real character who never let up until someone coming after him was finished!” and a printed message on top of the advertisement saying “Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You”.

On or about August 18, 1994, the respondent anonymously sent or caused to be sent to Liotti a one-page facsimile from the ‘Wyatt Earp Association” which, inter alia, claimed credit for distributing the mock business card at the June 23, 1994 Bar Association dinner, stated that the card was “printed at our Langley” headquarters, and asserted that Liotti was still a “vociferous letter writer and attacker of the innocent”. [346]*346In or ábout September 1994, the respondent anonymously sent or caused to be sent a one-page facsimile which purports to be “The Liotti Gazette” and, inter alia, contains mock articles about Liotti being investigated for child abuse and being under inquiry by the Internal Revenue Service in connection with his trip to Denver.

In September 1994, the respondent anonymously sent or caused to be sent to Liotti a street map of Garden City marking the spot where the Liotti office is located and a street map of Westbury circling the spot where the Liotti home is located.

Charge Two alleged that the respondent engaged in conduct adversely reflecting on his fitness to practice law, in violation of Code of Professional Responsibility DR 1-102 (A) (8) (22 NYCRR 1200.3 [a] [8]).

The four-page statement entitled “13 Suggestions for ‘Confrontational’ or Intentionally Offensive Criminal Defense Attorneys”, which the respondent distributed at the Bar Association dinner on June 23, 1994, included assertions warning attorneys of the potential consequences of filing complaints against or otherwise offending Judges. The statement noted that the “target” will find out “despite your desire to remain anonymous” and that “swords have two blades, and every action has an equal and opposite reaction”.

The respondent’s statement further added that making an unfounded complaint against a Judge would provoke retaliation by the Judge’s colleagues who would be “galvanize [d] * * * against you” and that “Risking professional problems will be the least of your difficulties”. The respondent described “Mogil’s Law”: If your “first figurative blow” does not “put the person ‘down for the count’ * * * you’ve had it!”.

The respondent’s statement further noted that an “offended official” could “find out more about you than your mother knows”, and threatened to raise questions against lawyers who offend public officials:

(1) “Is there anything in your background that you would prefer your colleagues or loved ones not know?”;

(2) “How are your tax returns for the last several years?”;

(3) “Are you taking any medications you would prefer remain a private matter?”; and

(4) ‘Would you like to see every item charged for the last 10 years on your credit cards scrutinized by the Feds?”

The respondent’s statement threatened complaining lawyers with exposure in The New York Times for extramarital [347]*347liaisons, “alcoholic over-indulgences”, and other behavior. The statement also warned that complaining lawyers may “unwittingly trigger the wheels of a deadly serious defensive scenario”.

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Related

Matter of Simon
2019 NY Slip Op 1077 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2019)
The Florida Bar v. Mogil
763 So. 2d 303 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2000)
People v. Morales
179 Misc. 2d 324 (New York Supreme Court, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
250 A.D.2d 343, 682 N.Y.S.2d 70, 1998 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 13540, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-mogil-nyappdiv-1998.