Legal Commentary

Colorado Boots Snitch Lawyer

By Jeralyn

When we first caught up with the news about Ohio criminal defense attorney Frank Pignatelli who became an informant for the feds against some of his own clients to avoid indictment on drug and money laundering charges for allegedly having acted in concert with them, he was practicing law in Denver, including representing defendants in federal drug cases.

A few weeks ago, the Colorado Supreme Court filed a petition to suspend his Colorado license to practice law because he allegedly lied on his bar admission application, stating he had never been under investigation.

The Colorado Supreme Court has now revoked Pignatelli's license -- our local alt weekly Westword has all the colorful details. [More...]

From the petition to suspend Pignatelli:

From June 2002 until April 2005, federal and Ohio state authorities conducted an extensive investigation into a large scale crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy distribution organization... During the course of such investigation, which involved the use of court ordered interception of wire communication over cellular telephones, investigators learned that [Pignatelli] seemed to be involved in the criminal conspiracy.

Particularly, intercepted telephone conversations indicated that [Pignatelli] was instructing members of the conspiracy about ways to avoid law enforcement detection and how to launder proceeds of the illegal drug trafficking. In addition, it appeared that [he] was attempting to introduce distributors of controlled substances to each other in an effort to ensure supplies of illegal drugs would flow.

Westword adds that when the feds first confronted Pignatelli at his Ohio home:

Inside, they apparently found $639,000 in dirty cash and a man quite willing to squawk to save his own hide.

When I first wrote the story up, I ended it with a line from a Bon Jovi song, "You give love a bad name" because of the likelihood that Pignatelli's actions would be used to smear all defense lawyers. Westword doesn't disappoint:

It's that last part [squawking to save his own hide]that seems to really gall his peers. The legal blog Simple Justice called the "lawyer rat" one of the "lowest scoundrels to ever call himself a criminal defense lawyer." (Ouch. That's like being named the shortest guy in a room full of midgets.)

Westword's low blow to all defense lawyers aside, I'll agree, good riddance to Pignatelli.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 01, 2009 (boomark / email).