Lawyer mailed feces to federal judges, GOP politicians, ethics complaint says; he blamed his 'rage' on racism
An Ohio lawyer on inactive status is accused of violating disciplinary rules by mailing human feces to federal judges and politicians along with messages accusing them of racism and kowtowing to President-elect Donald Trump. (Image from Shutterstock)
An Ohio lawyer on inactive status is accused of violating disciplinary rules by mailing human feces to federal judges and politicians along with messages accusing them of racism and kowtowing to President-elect Donald Trump.
Richard John Steinle of Mogadore, Ohio, who was admitted to practice in 1981, is accused in a Nov. 25 ethics complaint noted by the Legal Profession Blog. He was accused after he was sentenced to two years of probation in March and fined nearly $9,700 in federal court for sending injurious articles through the mail.
Mental health treatment was a condition of probation.
Steinle sent feces and messages to judges in federal courthouses in Cincinnati and El Centro, California, according to the federal plea agreement cited in the ethics complaint. He also mailed parcels to Ohio state senators and the campaign donation address for a U.S. congressman.
The targeted congressman was Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, according to Cleveland.com’s coverage of Steinle’s sentencing. The letters were also mailed to every Republican state senator in Ohio.
Messages to the federal judges included, “S- - - goes down good after sucking Trump’s d- - -” and the word “racist” in all caps, the ethics complaint said. Messages to the politicians included, “Pigs eat s- - -—eat up oinker.”
Steinle was 79 at the time of his sentencing, Cleveland.com reported in March.
During the sentencing hearing, Steinle said he took full responsibility for his “vile and repulsive actions,” Cleveland.com reported. He said he had acted out of “frustration and rage” stemming from the state of the country, including problems of racism and gun violence.
Steinle came to investigators’ attention after a postal inspector opened an investigation into letters to Ohio state senators that contained suspected human feces and the words “racist” and “pig” written on enclosed papers.
The letters and parcels had printed return labels with the address of an Ohio state appeals court, the initials of an employee who worked there and two other return addresses not identified in the ethics complaint. The employee told investigators with the U.S. Marshals Service that she didn’t mail the items and suggested that Steinle could be involved.
The employee said Steinle had been fired from his position as a court mediator. The employee’s husband had refused to represent Steinle in a civil lawsuit, and Steinle blamed her, the employee alleged.
Steinle had blamed his 2017 firing on retaliation for his letter to the editor criticizing Ohio’s governor and the workers’ compensation system, according to a suit that he did file that was cited by Cleveland.com.
A postal inspector conducting surveillance of Steinle in July 2022 saw him mail a letter while wearing a glove. The inspector retrieved the letter, which was addressed to a U.S. congressman, and opened it. The contents included a greeting card, what appeared to be feces and a one dollar bill.
By Aug. 2, 2022, more than three dozen letters and parcels containing suspected feces were mailed to elected officials in Ohio; Kentucky; California; and Washington, D.C., the ethics complaint said. All had the court employee’s initials and the same addresses used on the items mailed to Ohio state senators.
The ethics complaint alleges violations of ethics rules prohibiting lawyers from engaging in illegal acts that reflect adversely on their honesty or trustworthiness and that prohibit conduct adversely reflecting on fitness to practice law.
The ABA Journal was unable to reach Steinle at a number listed on the Ohio Supreme Court’s attorney directory. A lawyer who represented Steinle in the criminal case did not immediately respond to a Journal email seeking comment.
