3rd Circuit Court

Suburban Philadelphia Lawyer Gets 15 Years in Child Abuse Case Sparked By Victim’s Suit

A civil suit filed in 2008 by the 12-year-old Russian boy with whom Kenneth Schneider allegedly began a relationship in 1998 resulted in a 15-year prison term for the suburban Philadelphia attorney. Schneider, whose current age is said to be 46 or 47, denied that he had sexually abused the…

Dec 2, 2011 11:32 AM CST

Employees Fired Over Pornographic Emails Lose Age Discrimination Suit

Employees who get fired for exchanging sexually explicit emails on their employer-provided email accounts have no basis for claiming later they were discriminated against on account of their age, a federal appeals court has held. The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a Nov. 17 ruling (PDF), upheld…

Dec 1, 2011 11:54 PM CST

Pro Se Ex-Prosecutor Accused of Conspiring to Murder an FBI Informant Wins a Mistrial

Updated: Saying that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked in its sixth day of deliberations, a federal judge today declared a mistrial in the case of New Jersey attorney Paul Bergrin, the Star-Ledger reports. The former state and federal prosecutor could have faced a life sentence if he was convicted on…

Nov 23, 2011 6:30 PM CST

Is Jury Deadlocked in Trial of Attorney Accused of Plotting Contract Hit on Witness?

A federal jury in Newark, N.J., has told the trial judge that it can’t reach a decision in the case of attorney Paul Bergrin, who is accused of plotting a contract hit on a witness. However, U.S. District Judge William Martini told the seven-man, five-woman panel to keep trying for…

Nov 21, 2011 5:37 PM CST

Jury Still Deliberating in Criminal Case Against NJ Lawyer Accused of Plotting Witness Hit

It’s going to be a long weekend for New Jersey lawyer Paul Bergrin. A federal jury in Newark has deliberated for three days without reaching a verdict in a criminal case that could put the well-known criminal defense attorney behind bars for the rest of his life, report the Record…

Nov 19, 2011 1:33 AM CST

Once-Powerful Pa. Senator and Attorney Gets 61 Months in Federal Corruption Case Resentencing

Once a powerful Pennsylvania state senator who earned $100,000 a year as a lawmaker and another $1 million annually as a rainmaker for a Philadelphia law firm, Vincent Fumo was sentenced today for the second time in the same political corruption case. His original 55-month federal prison sentenced was nixed…

Nov 11, 2011 12:04 AM CST

Former Office Manager Gets 33 Months in Club Fed for Stealing $1.1M from NJ Law Firm

A former office manager for an unidentified law firm in Lakewood, N.J., was sentenced today to 33 months in jail, reports the Brick, N.J., Patch. Kathleen Baker, 54, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal wire fraud charge. She admittedly embezzled $1.1 million from the firm between 2003 and…

Nov 9, 2011 8:38 PM CST

Lawyer Who Paid $725K Kickbacks to Judges in Pa. ‘Kids for Cash’ Case Gets 18 Months

A Pennsylvania lawyer who said he was pressured into participating in a $2.6 million “kids for cash” corruption scheme operated by two then-Luzerne County judges was sentenced today to 18 months in prison by a federal judge in Scranton. Robert J. Powell got a reduced sentence in recognition of his…

Nov 4, 2011 4:22 PM CDT

Bankruptcy Trustee Sues Foley & Lardner, Says Legal Work Aided Client’s Massive Ponzi Scheme

Contending that legal work performed by Foley & Lardner helped a former client perpetrate a claimed Ponzi scheme that stripped some investors of their life savings as insiders looted assets, a trustee in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case for that client, DBSI Inc., has sued the law firm. Filed in…

Nov 4, 2011 2:53 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge OKs Ex-Associate’s Suit Saying Sedgwick Forced Him to Quit Over Affair with Court Worker

A federal judge in New Jersey has given the green light to a former Sedgwick associate’s discrimination suit against the law firm. It alleges that Wilson Campbell, who is black, was forced to resign from the firm after he had an affair with a white Jersey City municipal court worker,…

Nov 4, 2011 11:39 AM CDT

5 Lawyers, Ex-Crime Boss Son Among 13 Indicted in Alleged Lender Takeover by Racketeer Enterprise

Five lawyers and a certified public accountant are among 13 defendants indicted in a federal racketeering conspiracy and securities fraud case in Camden, N.J. It concerns the alleged use of threats against board members to take over a publicly traded Texas-based subprime lender and loot it of at least $12…

Nov 1, 2011 9:28 PM CDT

Del. Chancery Court Violated Law with ‘Secret’ Business Arbitration Program, Fed’l Suit Says

A new corporate arbitration program hosted by what many consider the nation’s top business court violates the U.S. Constitution by holding “secret” judicial proceedings, contends a lawsuit that was filed today in federal court in Wilmington, Del., by the Delaware Coalition for Open Government Inc. Naming all five justices of…

Oct 25, 2011 10:55 PM CDT

Drug Dealers Made Up Story of Witness Murder Conspiracy, Pro Se Defense Lawyer Tells Federal Jury

A well-known New Jersey criminal defense attorney accused of conspiring to murder a witness, both to help a client beat the rap and to protect his own alleged drug operation, told a jury in Newark today that the accusations against him are lies. Drug dealers, willing to do anything to…

Oct 17, 2011 7:27 PM CDT

Pro Se Defense Attorney to Be Shocked If He Leaves Authorized Courtroom Area During RICO Trial

Four U.S. marshals will be in the courtroom as attorney Paul Bergrin goes on trial in federal court in Newark, N.J., next month. He faces a racketeering case in which he is accused of operating his law firm as a criminal enterprise and conspiring with another New Jersey lawyer to…

Sep 19, 2011 6:01 PM CDT

Attorney Paul Bergrin’s Biggest Trial is About to Begin: His Own Racketeering Case

A high-profile New Jersey criminal defense lawyer is about to take on the biggest trial of his career–his own. A federal judge in Newark today agreed that attorney Paul Bergrin could defend himself against a 33-count murder conspiracy and racketeering indictment, although U.S. District Judge William Martini discouraged him from…

Sep 13, 2011 12:31 AM CDT