Columnist Asks: Why Does PA Allow Someone to Practice Law After a Serious Felony Conviction?

[JPZenger]

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/white/all-whitebox2os1.7201498mar11,0,6790517.column

The link is a to a good newspaper column about an attorney in the Lehigh Valley named John Karoly. He generated a fake will to try to claim millions of dollars of assets from his dead brother, who hated him. The prosecutors let him go, as long as he promised not to contest the fake will that wrote. His son is a lawyer who apparently was a false witness to that will, but will apparently get away without any charges.

Karoly also pled guilty to a major Federal income tax fraud that funneled money through his church, in return for a nice cash payment to the minister. But Karoly still practices law until he is sentenced. In the meantime, he is line to collect millions in settlements for on-going legal cases he is handling, which mainly involve sueing cities and thereby increasing real estate taxes. He keeps delaying the sentencing.

[Freddie Stubbs]

1. Are there any non-serious felonies?

:shrug:

[Number9Dream]

2. >30 grams of pot might get intent to sell charge

Even views on laws can be subjective.

snip> "If you have more than 30 grams of marijuana, you run the risk of being charged with possession with intent to deliver or distribute in many cases."

http://www.pennsylvania-criminal-defense.com/drugpossession.htm

For the many who feel that marijuana should be legalized, possession of 31 grams of pot shouldn't be a possible felony. Not to debate marijuana laws in this OP.

What Karoly did is another matter.

[JPZenger]

3. The State regs separate morality crimes vs. honesty crimes

The state rules for disciplining attorneys make a distinction between morality crimes (such as patronizing a prostitute) vs. crimes that involve lieing and fraud (which defines Karoly's crimes).