Lawyer guilty in cemetery theft; state AG says he stole $1.8M to refund $1M in client escrow money
A New York lawyer is the losing party in a white-collar crime trifecta, according to the state attorney general.
On Friday, 55-year-old Timothy Griffin was sentenced to a six-month prison sentence, for tax evasion, by a federal judge in Connecticut, where Griffin lives. On Wednesday, in an unrelated New York case, the Westchester County real estate attorney pleaded guilty to first-degree grand larceny in state court in Staten Island, concerning over $1.8 million he stole from a non-profit local cemetery, reports the Staten Island Advance.
Attorney general Eric Scheiderman told the newspaper Griffin could get as much as nine years under the plea deal when he is sentenced in April. Meanwhile, Griffin also is expected to plead guilty later this month, Schneiderman said, in a Westchester County case concerning more than $1 million that Griffin allegedly embezzled from real estate client escrow accounts at his Bronxville law office.
“This defendant not only stole from the clients of his law practice, but then stole millions from his charity in an attempt to disguise that theft,” the AG said in a written statement provided to the newspaper. “My office has zero tolerance for anyone who abuses the public trust by taking advantage of a position at a nonprofit. If you use a charity as your own personal piggy bank, you will face serious consequences, including jail time.”
Griffin was asked to serve as acting president of United Hebrew Cemetery after another official stole $850,000, the Advance explains. He then stole nearly $2 million more, according to Schneiderman.
Attorney Nicholas A. Gravante Jr. represented Griffin in the Connecticut case. He said in a pre-sentence memoradum that his client had a drinking problem for a decade that clouded his judgment as he struggled to provide for the wife and six children to whom he is devoted. Griffin has now been sober for a year, Gravante said.
Schneiderman said the defendant used at least some of the money he stole to fund an extravagant lifestyle, including a country club membership, luxury vehicles and jewelry.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer stole from cemetery so he could repay $1M he had stolen from clients, investigators say”
