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Denver Defense Attorney Named in Lawsuit Alleging Criminal Sex Acts

A defense attorney from Denver has been accused of trading his legal services for sex, according to a report from CBS Denver.

Charles Fife has been accused of preying on women and luring them into a polygamous lifestyle in a lawsuit filed in the Denver District Court. The lawsuit make sexual exploitation claims against Fife, who is not facing criminal charges.

According to the lawsuit, Fife faced similar charges back in 2004, but it did not lead to him being disbarred.

Fife runs a website related to DUI defense in Denver. It also says that he helps protect victims of sex crimes.

“They were vulnerable women who really didn’t have any other opportunity to get help except through an exchange of sex with him,” said Jay Reinan, a lawyer representing one of the victims in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the indiscretions date back at least 10 years.

"For at least the last decade, Fife has sexually exploited, victimized and preyed upon women, including female clients, which is a violation of ethical standards," the lawsuit states. "Fife also grooms his clients through religious proselytization."

It says that Fife gave the women housing in an apartment building on South Birch Street called Korsakov. The apartment is only a couple of blocks from Fife’s office.

The suit also claims that Fife traded sex for legal counsel when one of his victims ran out of money. The suit goes on to say that Fife claimed women he picked up via his practice as his wives and that he pressed his Mormon beliefs on the women.

Reinan said that the majority of the women were financially destitute. The lawsuit never claims that any of the women were raped, but said that they reportedly felt trapped and that they could not say no to Fife.

“She really can’t consent to having a sexual relationship with him because he has all the cards. He has the money, he has the ability to keep her out of from jail, he has the ability to stop representing her if she withholds sex from him. So it’s not fair,” Reinan said.

The victim named in the lawsuit was hired to work for Fife and the relationship between the two continued.

The lawsuit also alleges that the office of Fife was used as a sex studio. Some 30,000 pictures and videos of sexual acts were recorded in the office.

Fife has yet to comment on the lawsuit.

11-02-2014

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Lawyer from Missouri Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Bank Robbery Spree

Warren J. Gladders, a lawyer and former police officer, has been sentenced to 24 years and five months in prison for a bank robbery spree in 2013, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Gladders went on a bank robbery spree in 2013 that concluded with a gunfight with a state trooper from Missouri.

Gladders took responsibility for the crimes, but failed to explain how he went from being a lawyer to a criminal.

Gladders fired four shots at the officer, from the Missouri Highway Patrol, with one of them being stopped by a bullet-proof vest.

Gladder was hit in the leg by return fire.

Gladders is from Wentzville and robbed the First Bank in Dutzow, Warren County on September 20, 2013. His vehicle was seen by the trooper, who pulled him over, which caused the gunfire to erupt.

On August 2, 2013, Gladders robbed the First National Bank in Weldon Spring. He robbed the Reliance Bank in Creve Coeur on July 7, 2013.

Gladders showed a revolver in all of his robberies. His entire pull from the robberies totaled $55,000.

He entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court back in July of this year to three charges of bank robbery and a charge of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Both the public defender for Gladders and the prosecution agreed that 25 years in prison was an appropriate sentence. The final sentence was reduced due to the time Gladders spent in jail prior to having federal charges filed against him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rea said, “This was an unbelievably violent and dangerous act.”

Gladders has also entered a guilty plea in state court and will be sentenced there in November. He could be facing up to 35 years in prison, but the time will likely be concurrent with the federal sentence.

Gladders spent some brief time as a police officer in St. Louis, but was working as a lawyer when the crimes were committed. He graduated from John Burroughs School, Colgate University and the Washington University law school.

10-26-2014

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Current and Former Lawyers Arrested in Drug-Ring Bust in Texas

Officials from the United States Department of Justice announced Thursday that a group of 24 people were arrested in a drug-dealing scheme, one of which is a current lawyer and one is a former lawyer, according to The American-Statesman.

David Ramos and Richard Patrick Fagerberg both could face 10 years to life in prison “for their roles in a cocaine and methamphetamine distribution operation,” according to the Justice Department.

There have already been 10 people in custody indicted for their connection to the operation.

Even though 24 people were arrested, it is believed that at least 34 people are involved in the operation, which was a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and meth beginning in May of 2013.

During one raid, officers seized 87 kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of meth, four guns and some $1.5 million in “criminally derived assets in connection with this investigation.”

Fagerberg stopped practicing law after being injured during South by Southwest in 2011 because he “no longer possesses the mental capacity or thought processes necessary to effectively represent his clients,” according to a lawsuit he filed as a result of his injuries.

The lawyer for Ramos, Ben Florey, told the American-Statesman that his client has already entered a not guilty plea to the charges and was released. His bail was set at $10,000.

Florey also said that there was no money or drugs seized from Ramos that had any connection to him. Florey also said he does not know why Ramos was charged.

“We are looking forward to receiving the evidence from the government, so that we can clear up this matter,” Florey said. “We do not know any specific allegations or if perhaps someone is trying to provide false information in order to gain favor with the government.”

The indictment filed against Ramos and unsealed late this week did not offer any further information into the charges.

10-17-2014

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City of Roanoke to Eliminate Criminal History Question on City Government Job Application

Government officials in Roanoke, Virginia are joining 10 other localities in the state in removing a question from the standard job application that asks about criminal history, according to The Roanoke News.

This movement is being called “Ban the Box” and it argues that this question leads to discrimination against former offenders who are attempting to put their lives back on track. Officials believe that the question is also a deterrent to former offenders when it comes to applying for government jobs.

Those who defend the question claim that is a strong way to learn info at the very start of the hiring process. They also say that it is a good tool for employers to avoid risks of hiring workers who might hurt their business, cause litigation against them or endanger other employees.

The change was made in Roanoke last week as they joined Norfolk, Richmond, Martinsville and Charlottesville in cities that have removed the question from job applications. All of these cities have done so without formal votes.

The change will occur in January by the city staff, but they will be doing it without the blessing of the city council.

The question will only be removed from job applications filed with the city government and not with private companies in the town of Roanoke. Background checks and smart decisions on who to hire will still be made, according to Sherman Stovall, the Assistant City Manager of Roanoke.

“I want to applaud the city for leading the charge,” said Councilwoman Anita Price. “I hope this will encourage other organizations and businesses to look at the lead the city has taken and follow suit.”

The city was being pressed to make the change by Price, Councilman Court Rosen and Councilman Sherman Lea.

Via email, Lea said, “I am proud of my colleagues on Council and the City Administration.”

A statement was added last year that said a criminal history for applicants would not disqualify them automatically from most jobs with the city.

Stovall said that of the applicants in the previous year who had a criminal history, 44 percent of them were offered jobs with the city.

10-12-2014

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Three Lawyers from New York Charged with Bribery Scheme Involving Criminal Justice Agency Staffer

On Monday, three criminal defense attorneys and a paralegal were arraigned in a case that stems from them conspiring to pay off Manhattan Criminal Court staff members to have cases sent to them, according to The New York Daily News.

The lawyers were charged in two indictments for crimes committed in the conspiracy that lasted for more than one year. The lawyers indicted are Dwane Smith, 56, Benjamin Yu, 36, and Jae Lee, 41. The paralegal charged in the case is that of Jose Nunez, 47.

A Criminal Justice Agency staff member, who has not been identified, used “his position within the court system to persuade” wealthy defendants to hire Yu and Lee, according to the first of two indictments in the case.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said that the staffer would recommend that the defendants hire the lawyers after he analyzed them to see if they could afford private lawyers. He would promise the defendants that those lawyers would get them seen by judges quicker.

Yu received 100 clients from the staffer, charging them $1,500 per arraignment. Lee acquired 13 clients through the staffer.

The staffer received some $30,000 in bribes for steering the defendants to those attorneys.

The scheme began between Yu and Nunez, but Lee was added when the original pair felt they were being surveilled in May.

Yu had Lee take care of the clients so he could distance himself from the scheme, according to the DA.

The staffer was caught on tape being told to avoid detection by Smith, who was also caught on videotape paying a bribe to the staffer.

“I’m careful on my end, you be careful on your end … That’s the key, right man …. we work together, we got a common goal, man. When I make money, you make money, right?” Smith said, according to the district attorney.

Andres Aranda, the lawyer for Yu, said, “My client is a member of the bar, presumed to be innocent. He's an American citizen, somebody you see every day in this courthouse.”

10-05-2014

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