DECISION

Pursuant to Practice Book §2-35, the undersigned, duly-appointed reviewing committee of the Statewide Grievance Committee, conducted a hearing at the Superior Court, One Court Street, Middletown, Connecticut on January 9, 2003. The hearing addressed the record of the complaint filed on June 19, 2002, and the probable cause determination filed by the New Britain Judicial District, and the Judicial District of Hartford for Geographical Area 12 and the towns of Avon, Bloomfield, Canton, Farmington and West Hartford Grievance Panel on October 17, 2002, finding that there existed probable cause that the Respondent violated Rule 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

&Notice of the hearing was mailed to the Complainant and to the Respondent on December 2, 2002. The Complainant did not appear at the hearing. The Respondent appeared at the hearing before this reviewing committee and, in claiming his right to the Fifth Amendment's protection against compelled self-incrimination, did not testify.

The Respondent was advised that Attorney Lorraine Eckert would not be present at the hearing. The Respondent did not waive the participation of Attorney Eckert. Accordingly, Attorney Eckert reviewed the record and the transcript of this matter and participated in rendering this decision.

This reviewing committee finds the following facts by clear and convincing evidence:

The Respondent was suspended from the practice of law on August 22, 2001 for a period of three years. The suspension arose out of the Respondent's misappropriation of funds belonging to his client, Elizabeth Forbes (Statewide Grievance Committee v. Ankerman, CV00-0802379, 2002). In accordance with the suspension, Attorney Steven Dembo was appointed as trustee pursuant to Practice Book §2-64. At the time of the Respondent's suspension, he held a Fleet Bank account as an interest-bearing trust account pursuant to Rule 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct and Practice Book §2-27 (hereinafter referred to as "the Fleet IOLTA"). Pursuant to his duties as trustee, Attorney Dembo commenced accounting for funds the Respondent held in the Fleet IOLTA account. The Respondent made the representation to Attorney Dembo that the funds held in the Fleet IOLTA account were his personal funds and requested the trustee release those monies to him.

In or around October of 2001, Attorney Dembo filed a motion for advice asking the court for guidance on the issue of the Fleet IOLTA funds. The Honorable Susan Peck heard the motion on October 15, 2001. At the hearing, the court directed the Respondent to submit his client ledger and receipt and disbursement journals to Attorney Dembo. The court also ordered the Respondent to submit documentation as to the claim that the funds in the Fleet IOLTA account were his personal monies. The court ordered the Respondent to comply with the order by October 30, 2001. The court further ordered Attorney Dembo to submit a subsequent written report by November 5, 2001. During the hearing, the court voiced her concern over the Respondent's commingling of clients' funds with his own money.

In response to the court's order, the Respondent submitted various bank statements and ten checks issued from the Fleet IOLTA account. The checks submitted contained the following information:

This reviewing committee also considered the following:

The Respondent denied commingling his funds with clients' funds, claiming the funds in the Fleet IOLTA account were entirely comprised of his personal funds. The Respondent also asserted that, since he was suspended from the practice of law at the time of the court's inquiry, his conduct was not regulated by the Rules of Professional Conduct.

This reviewing committee concludes that the Respondent maintained his personal funds in an account designated for the protection of clients' funds, and used those funds for his own purposes, in violation of Rule 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1.15(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct requires an attorney in possession of funds belonging to a client to keep those funds separate from the lawyer's own funds. The purpose of the Rule is to assure clients' funds are safely protected at all times. The Respondent's claim that the funds in the Fleet IOLTA account are his alone is not sufficient to mitigate the findings of this reviewing committee. Not only has the Respondent failed to provide any documentary evidence in support of this statement, he has failed to provide financial records that he is required to maintain and that the court ordered him to submit. The Respondent's failure to maintain proper records of the funds in the Fleet IOLTA account further violated Rule 1.15(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

This reviewing committee finds that the Respondent's violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct constitute serious misconduct and warrant the imposition of discipline. Accordingly, we order the Respondent presented to the Superior Court for the imposition of whatever discipline the Court deems appropriate. Since we are ordering that the Respondent be presented to the Superior Court, and a presentment is a de novo proceeding, we order that the presentment complaint include the following findings: that the Respondent violated Rules 8.1(2) and 8.4(4) of the Rules of Professional Conduct by failing to comply with the court's order to turn over financial records, including receipt and disbursement ledgers; and that the Respondent violated Practice Book §2-27(b) by failing to maintain a receipt and disbursement journal.

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Attorney Carl Fortuna

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Attorney Lorraine Eckert