July 1 – Aug. 21, 2002

Allegheny County
The Supreme Court on July 25 ordered Marvin Abrams suspended for one year, retroactive to July 28, 2001, the date he was placed on temporary suspension after being convicted of two counts of failing to file federal income tax returns. The one-year suspension with retroactivity was recommended by the Disciplinary Board. (See "Reinstatements" below.)

The court on Aug. 16 ordered Vincent Albert Ciccone Jr. suspended for one year and one day, to run concurrently with a year-and-a-day suspension imposed by the court on Nov. 20, 2001, as recommended by the Disciplinary Board. The disciplinary report said Ciccone was "not diligent or prompt" in the handling of a client’s lawsuit and that he failed to inform the client he had been placed on inactive status and failed to return the client’s retainer. The report said previous disciplinary actions against Ciccone involved "distinctly similar conduct."

Out of State
The Supreme Court on July 10 ordered G. Jeffrey Moeller of Hackensack, N.J., suspended for one year and one day. The court rejected the Disciplinary Board’s majority recommendation that Moeller be suspended for three months. According to the disciplinary report, Moeller, while on active status in New Jersey but on inactive status in Pennsylvania, agreed to review trust documents for Dallas-based American Estate Services Inc. (AESI). While reviewing documents AESI prepared for a Pennsylvania woman, Moeller used the address of a real estate firm in Milford and letterhead indicating he was admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, not realizing, he said, that his registration had lapsed several years earlier. The Disciplinary Board concluded that Moeller had engaged in unauthorized practice, shared a legal fee with a non-lawyer and aided AESI, a "non-lawyer entity," in unauthorized practice by reviewing the documents it had prepared. Five members of the Disciplinary Board dissented from the majority recommendation, four urging a private reprimand and one calling for the year-and-a-day suspension.

York County
The Supreme Court on July 25 ordered Tony Santo Sangiamo suspended for 20 months, retroactive to March 12, 2001, the date he was placed on temporary suspension after being convicted of corrupting the morals of a minor. The 20-month suspension with retroactivity was recommended by the Disciplinary Board.

Disbarments on Consent
The following attorneys have been disbarred on consent under a rule of disciplinary enforcement pertaining to resignations by attorneys under disciplinary investigation: Robert Chase Cheek Jr., Allegheny County, on July 17; W. Brian Golden, Monroe County, on July 25; Charles Anthony DiFazio, Philadelphia, on Aug. 21; and Forest Charles Sexton, Allegheny County, on Aug. 21.

Reciprocal Discipline
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has imposed reciprocal discipline on the following attorneys: Harry James Childerston, disbarred, on July 10, for disbarment on consent ordered by the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware; Aaron Maurice Smith, disbarred, on July 17, for disbarment on consent ordered by the Supreme Court of New Jersey; John J. Hykel, suspended for two years, retroactive to Jan. 23, 2002, on July 17, for a like suspension under a consent order by the U.S. Immigration Court; and Francis X. Gavin, suspended for six months, on Aug. 1, for a like suspension ordered by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Temporary Suspension – Rule 214(d)(1)
The following attorneys have been placed on temporary suspension under a rule of disciplinary enforcement pertaining to attorneys convicted of serious crimes: Patrick H. McCarthy III, out of state, on July 17; Mark E. Steiner, out of state, on Aug. 1; Roger Clark Peterman, out of state, on Aug. 1; and Kevin John Walsh, Allegheny County, on Aug. 8.

REINSTATEMENTS
July 1 – Aug. 21, 2002

Allegheny County
The Supreme Court on Aug. 16 approved the reinstatement of Marvin Abrams, who had been suspended for one year, retroactive to July 28, 2001.