from staff
The Florida Bar announced that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 22 attorneys, disbarring seven, suspending eight, placing three on probation and reprimanding six. Restitution was ordered in three cases. Not all attorneys are listed in this article, and some attorneys received more than one form of discipline.
None of the attorneys is from Jacksonville. However, Orange Park attorney Basem Soliman was suspended for three years effectively immediately following a July 12 order. In October 2006, Soliman pled guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation for fondling library patrons. He was found guilty and sentenced to 24 months community control, followed by 36 months of sex offender probation.
The following lawyers were also disciplined by The Florida Bar:
• Mark Harrill Hutchison, 210 S. Park Ave., Suite 102, Sanford, ordered disbarred immediately following a July 12 court order. Before being able to reapply for readmission to the Bar after five years, Hutchison must make full restitution to clients whose funds he misappropriated. Hutchison knowingly or intentionally converted client property and engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. Hutchison had been suspended in February for misappropriating client funds.
• Peter Wayne Margolin, 225 N.E. Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton, disbarred, effective immediately, pursuant to a July 5 court order. Margolin requested and accepted a $15,000 fee from a client who was filing an action against the mother of his child. Even though the cause of action does not exist under Florida law, Margolin filed a complaint against the woman for alienation of affection. He never informed the client that this was not a valid cause of action. Margolin also concurrently represented the husband of the same woman when their interests were directly adverse to each other. After The Florida Bar filed its complaint, Margolin failed to respond to any correspondence or notice of hearings and failed to appear at the status conference and final hearing.
• Frank M. Marks, 11601 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 201, Miami, permanently disbarred, effective immediately following a July 12 court order. Marks was granted leave to resign with leave to reapply after five years by the Supreme Court in November 2004 for misappropriation of funds, neglect, practicing while not up to date with required continuing education courses and not complying with a subpoena. He continued to practice law and later did not attend conferences or the final hearing related to his case.
• Alexis Summer Moore, P.O. Box 310365, Miami, permanently disbarred, effective immediately, pursuant to a July 5 court order. A trust fund audit conducted by The Florida Bar showed that Moore misappropriated more than $42,000 from the sale of the marital home in a divorce action, writing four checks to herself over the course of four months for “legal services.” Moore did not respond to Bar inquiries regarding the complaint, which was filed by a title insurance company. She had been suspended since November 2006.
• Robert J. Pape Jr., 34 Ivy Way, Port Washington, N.Y., disbarred retroactive to June 17, 2004, following a July 12 court order. This is a reciprocal discipline case. Pape was disbarred by New York state for professional misconduct by engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice; conduct adversely reflecting on his fitness as a lawyer; and failure to maintain adequate financial records.
• Rose J. Spano, P.O. Box 50136, Lighthouse Point, permanently disbarred, effective immediately, pursuant to a July 17 court order. Spano continued to practice law after she was suspended and then disbarred. Should she continue to practice law after the permanent disbarment, she will be subject to incarceration or a fine or both.
• Demetrios Voiklis, 5811 Memorial Highway, Suite 107, Tampa, disbarred, effective 30 days from a July 5 court order. In March, Voiklis was found guilty of nine of 47 counts following indictment by a federal grand jury. The counts include conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud.
• Charles Guy Batsel, P.O. Box 363, Placida, suspended effective 30 days from a July 30 court order. Batsel was found guilty of misdemeanor Boating Under the Influence and pled no contest to felony possession of a controlled substance. The court withheld adjudication of guilt on the latter charge and sentenced Batsel to two years’ probation. He received six months’ probation for Boating Under the Influence.
• William Rudolph Boose III, 515 N. Flagler St., Suite 900, West Palm Beach, suspended effective 30 days from a July 30 court order. In a plea agreement, Boose pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of misprision of a felony, which is a felony under federal law. He also agreed to forfeit $400,000 and cooperate with the IRS in determining and paying any tax liabilities, penalties and interest related to the prosecution.
• Michael Walter Gaines, 3666 Sapphire Lane, Palm Harbor, suspended for a year retroactive to March 30 following a July 12 court order. Following reinstatement, Gaines will be on probation for a year. Gaines knowingly made a false statement to the Supreme Court about his continuing use of methadone and was found to have violated his contract with Florida Lawyers Assistance Inc. for drug-abuse treatment that had been ordered by the Supreme Court in 2004 during a previous suspension/probation.
• Henry John Martocci, P.O. Box 560447, Rockledge, suspended for 91 days, and thereafter, until reinstated effective 30 days from a July 11 order. Following a judge’s ruling against his client, outside the courtroom Martocci became loud and aggressive in berating the assistant state attorney who handled the state’s case. Back in the courtroom, he insulted the assistant state attorney in front of many witnesses. Further he failed to respond within the time allowed to the assistant state attorney’s Bar complaint.
• Charles Michael Pasco, P.O. Box 4164, Fort Lauderdale, suspended for three years, effective immediately, pursuant to a July 26 court order. Pasco, who notified the court that he is no longer practicing law, misappropriated trust funds from a settlement intended to pay a client’s medical bills with the remainder going to the client. He also cashed a check made payable to clients after signing their signatures on the check. After complaints were filed with The Florida Bar, Pasco repaid the two clients.
• Jason Paul Rojas, 4037 Shady View Lane, Tallahassee, suspended for 60 days, effective 30 days from a July 5 court order. In June 2004, a college acquaintance of Rojas stole two Florida State University national football championship trophies from the university campus. The same day, the acquaintance went to Rojas’ residence with one or both of the trophies and left one of them with Rojas. Although he was not involved in the actual theft, Rojas retained possession of the stolen trophy for more than a year, until police retrieved it after the acquaintance told them its whereabouts. Rojas was charged with dealing in stolen property, a second degree felony, but entered into a deferred prosecution agreement.
• Alberto Jose Xiques, 1825 Ponce de Leon Blvd., No. 432, Coral Gables, subject of a July 2 emergency suspension order. Xiques is not to accept new clients and must cease representing any clients 30 days from the date of the order. He also must obtain Florida Supreme Court approval before disbursing or withdrawing money from trust accounts. The Bar found that Xiques represents a clear and present harm to the public after he understated the value of a property in a real estate transaction by more than $12 million for purposes of calculating the mortgage doc and intangible tax. In a previous instance, a check issued to the clerk of court for payment of the doc tax was dishonored because of insufficient funds. Additionally, a bank and trust company filed two civil complaints against Xiques alleging that he failed to pay off outstanding mortgages on properties, failed to pay closing fees, failed to purchase title insurance, failed to pay county and state tax stamps and failed to record a mortgage.
• Charles Behm, P.O. Box 10, Pomona Park, to receive a public reprimand pursuant to a July 17 court order. Behm was found guilty of engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice in a probate case in which he misrepresented to the court the status of a last will and testament.
• James Stephen Bendza, 18 Newbury Place, Naples, placed on two years’ probation, effective immediately, and ordered to pay restitution pursuant to a July 5 court order. Bendza worked part-time for an attorney who resigned, in lieu of discipline, for trust fund violations. He failed to clearly communicate with one of his former supervisor’s clients, who was seeking representation, and was unable to return a $750 retainer fee to the client because he had relinquished control of the retainer to his former supervisor.