Ethics Questions Surround Lawyer Indicted in Astor Case
The lawyer indicted along with the son of wealthy socialite Brooke Astor has faced past accusations over will bequests and in one case a legal fee.
Francis X. Morrissey Jr. has faced disciplinary action in at least two states, the New York Times reports. In the Astor case, he is accused of forging the woman’s signature on a 2002 will and “work[ing] himself into a position to collect millions of dollars when she died,” prosecutor Peirce Moser said at Morrissey’s arraignment on Friday.
Morrissey is charged with conspiracy, forgery, a scheme to defraud, and possession of a forged instrument, according to the newspaper.
The Times says that over the years Morrissey “has gained a reputation for ingratiating himself to older people and finding his way into their wills or trusts, mostly as a beneficiary, but also as an executor or a trustee.” The newspaper says previous suits, settled under confidentiality agreements, had accused him of taking advantage of mentally incompetent people who named him in their wills to receive New York apartments, cash and expensive art.
Morrissey’s lawyer told the Times the bequests were made by Morrissey’s close friends, upsetting beneficiaries who received less money.
In one of the disciplinary cases, Morrissey was suspended for two years for taking more than $900,000 out of an escrow account to pay a disputed legal fee, the newspaper reports. The next year he resigned from the California bar with charges pending against him that are still confidential.
