Tampa Bay lawyers among those cited in disciplinary action
Tampa Bay Business Journal
The Florida Supreme Court has disciplined 30 attorneys, disbarring six, suspending 18 and placing three on probation in Florida. Of the 30, five are Tampa Bay area practitioners.
Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Six attorneys were reprimanded and two ordered to pay restitution, a release from the Florida Bar said Tuesday. The Florida Bar is the state's guardian for the integrity of the legal profession.
All actions were effective 30 days from an Aug. 21 court order unless noted otherwise, the release said.
Tampa Bay area lawyers disciplined include:
• Mark Jerome Albrechta of Tampa is suspended for 90 days. Albrechta allegedly failed to turn over a $300,000 deposit or say that he was not holding any funds when a real estate transaction failed to close. When the court entered a judgment against the buyer only then did Albrechta clarify that he was not holding any funds and offered to deliver the check to the seller.
• Peter Stephen Baranowicz of Osprey received a public reprimand from the Florida Bar's Board of Governors, following an Aug. 21 court order. Baranowicz is placed on probation for three years. Baranowicz failed to promptly and diligent represent clients and failed to keep clients informed. In one instance, Baranowicz agreed to provide discovery to opposing counsel within 21 days in a defamation lawsuit but did not provide the documents for five months, when a hearing on the motion to compel was held. As a result of not timely filing the required documents, the client was sanctioned with attorney fees.
• David Noble Doss of Gulfport is suspended for one year effective immediately. In several probate matters, Doss delayed filing accountings and received orders to show why they were not timely filed.
• Vincent James Krocka of Palm Harbor is suspended for 30 months, effective retroactive to Dec. 7, 2007. In April 2006, Krocka was found guilty of child neglect and criminal mischief, both felonies, and sentenced to five years in prison. He was placed on the inactive list for incapacity in October 2004 and remains an inactive member of the Florida Bar, the release said.
• Robert Eugene Vest of Brooksville is suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from an Aug. 26 court order. Vest is ordered to pay Florida Lawyers Assistance Inc. a registration fee and monitoring fee arrearages. Due to his non-compliance with the court's order, Vest is held in contempt. In January 2007, he received a public reprimand and was placed on probation for three years. Under the terms, Vest was ordered to contact FLA to schedule an evaluation, enter into a rehabilitation contract and follow all FLA recommendations. FLA notified the Bar in April that Vest had not seen or spoken with his therapist in two months and had failed to call in for his testing requirement for two months.
As an official agency of the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Bar and its Department of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the 84,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida. Since Aug. 1, 2007, case files have been posted to attorneys' individual Florida Bar profiles and may be reviewed at and/or downloaded from the Florida Bar's Web site, www.floridabar.org.
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