Whatever else might be said about New York Attorney General and gubernatorial wannabe Andrew Cuomo, he is doing a few things correctly, and on that score I applaud him.
Specifically, he has been on the rampage against various business entities that have been illegally providing legal services to aliens regarding their immigration status. Not oblivious to the need to give his name some positive spin, he has posted a news release on his official website to boast of his accomplishments. My partisan political sentiments in the upcoming gubernatorial election notwithstanding, I applaud this. Under the circumstances, I even applaud his posting of the Spanish version of the news release.
One of the 7 entrepreneurs that got pinched in Cuomo's latest outing was Oficina Legal Para Hispanos, P.C., owned by one Geoffrey S. Stewart, Esq. The settlement agreement (styled as an "Assurance of Discontinuance") between the AG's Office and OLPH/Stewart contains some interesting findings and terms. Specifically, Stewart was employing people not licensed to practice law to provide legal services to the "immigrants" (the correct terminology, in most cases, should be "illegal aliens").
The settlement terms include, but are not limited to: (A) Oficina Legal Para Hispanos, P.C will be dissolved, (B) Stewart will permanently cease and desist from practicing immigration law or providing "immigration-related services," and (C) OLPH and/or Stewart shall pay the AG's office $30,000 for their trouble (via wire transfer or certified check -- no personal checks accepted).
Giving credit where credit is due, I thank our AG.
[Geoffrey Stewart happens to be the son of another attorney (ex-attorney) who has gotten into trouble for the "legal services" she provided to aliens. His mom is Lynne Stewart.].
The apple apparently doesn't fall far from the crooked tree.
ReplyDeleteHe should have been referred to the State Bar and been disbarred.
You have omitted an adjective there!
ReplyDeleteIt should be "The ROTTEN apple apparently doesn't fall far from the crooked tree."
Lynne's boy has probably been referred to the Disciplinary Committee. Their cogs do take a while to turn (though not as long as those of many other governmental bodies).
The way I'm calling it, this is good for a 6-month suspension. [Cf. Matter of Rodkin.].
Actually, there are two attorneys in New York named Geoffrey S. Stewart. Geoffrey Shannon Stewart is a Harvard Law grad in a Wall Street law firm. This guy here is Geoffrey St. Andrew Stewart, who went to New York Law School (an excellent institution, notwithstanding the fact that its grads also include G St. Andrew and the late Victor Hassine).