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.rn-rrr tlc rln w T\resday, June 11,2013 * lnquirer.com
FBIkobes
ryon
ES
ililff Erclrlyc: Referral fees the
Pa.
justice's
wife
referral fee in 2012 after a Philadel-
phia law firm successfrlly settled a
received are focus. Ca"stille raises Ethics Act issue.
multimillion-dollar rnedical-malprac-
tice case.
By0trsigR. McCoy The investigation is exarnining 19 Dion G.
INQUIRI'R STAFF' WIIITER
referal fees paid to Lise Rapaport, the
justice
any
Ttre FtsI is investigating Pennsyl- the
justice's
wife and his chief aide zuggestion that there wis a federal
vania Supreme Court Justi ce Sea- for most of the
accord-
only on
condition
that they not be identied.
for It could not be deterrrined whether
the two investigations were related.
Municipal Court, the lower tier in
the Philadelphia
judicial
system,
heas drunken drivingcases and mi-
nor crimial and civil violations.
the federal inquiry into Municipal Justlcr Scrm P.
see tcGlfgf on A6 Hccilhry
A fedeal investigation of
pal Court is also underway,
ing to sources urtro spoke
mus P- McCaffery over fees his wife ing to several
received for referring cents to per-
law frrms, Tlre Inguirer sonal-irfury
has learned.
knowledge of the investigation.
In March, The Inquirer
last t6
years, accord-
people with direct
reported
$821,000
Rassias, an attorney
and bis wife, called
investigation "complete nonsense."
He also said McCaffery has not
done "a[ything at all improper."
'You' indging rumo without
any facts, which is sad,'he said. that Rapaport received an
Ll
PLAINTIFF'S
EXHIBIT
?-3
Case ID: 140203044
FBI McCaffery
a o
over wifeis referrat
:
fees
cfffEl|r
fnon Al
Court
was ftrst reported
-sunday.by
the Let Inlli.
.gencer
on its website. .
Sin0e'2003,, tho year
ltllc'
Caffery
first ran for
fte
an-
pels
bench, he hs rqqn-
ed that his wife has nB-
ceivd income ftom
-refer-
ral fees every
yean
$uch fees, whictr are lo
gfl
in Pennsylvania, ane
paid
to comnsate a lw-
yer
for brinsng a client to
a rm if the litigntion is zuc-
cessful, fically, the refer;
ring
larryer
gets
a third of
any fec
paid to the fitrn.
Rassias, along wttt prin-
cipals in the firms that re-
ceived the referrats fmm
Rpaport, described the
fees as roudne and
proper.
In a March I letter to The
Inquire Rssias said fte
justice's
wife was sought
ou by clients because she
is a lawyer with an
'excel"
lent rcputation and mag'
netic
personafity,"
Ilassias said tlrat forrnor
clients of Rapapofi, dating
to when she'was in prvate
practice,
sought her out
for legal advce and that
she
.in
turn referred them
to other.lawyers.
Pennsylvania Chief Jus-
tice Ronald D. Castlle has
sharply ci,'ticized the efer-
rals, telling The Inguirer
in March tlut he wa$ tnou-
bled tbat a court aide
would bc collectng fees
while
-ernployd
in a
judi-
cial chnmber."
'
Inteviersd.. rcently,
Cstilc'frid
the
ba uFged
fellow
justces',
sonsidgr
tlerc.to bamme. drulnis-,
ffitiye
juds,
fl. top
pqsi-
'tion
:
-.
He begEn senring sn the
stte Sunerior Court in
w andou tho suprnme
Court in 2008. Mctaffery
is
peid.$f99,606 yeaf,
as
a
iutics'
AB hir chief ad-
ministrtive
judisiat
essis-.
tant, Rapapon is 'pad'
S75,39SEyeaL
"
:
In his' persont'
Fn{ncd
digcluguru, which mst be
fcd annualty, frfcCgftiy
har rcported t hie. wifc
receiwd palment.
fmm
sttlment or verdic$ in
ttcs purnred
by.,cight
difiercnt la nns
The moat rcaent digcto-
sru rpport, fled in Mry,
citd two rm ag sourrses
of refcnil fGGs. ne was
$chmldtlftrrner bssod in
Harrisburg, which also
I
r
whethe'ltfcCaffy iltSbt
lrare voltd the site Eth-
ics Act:U he
gnve
hls $'$e
nrmfasion
to'rnal$ th.Fs^
ferrds srd:aem t fc,
TIre Ethics AG't bars
pub.
lis, officiati. fmm .u*ing
their eutbority
rfor'the
nrl-
vate
pecuniary
benef
'of
their'hmilis. .
'
:
:
"By'giltitg
her ptiriC:
sion, helr
:feathering
his
osn nest
T
,Gfstlle
si4,
*It's
an obuiorts cbnf,ict
?.
Rpsdrs nma,sffrd lfio
dsy S he would ttspond'
Ctgtleb:.srgtloL He
+lid nm',rcarn' zubseqent
cdls fur cqmEqit
,....
. Irr {mr Ir h 1e
Iquir,
'dated.
lilrrh 1{;
Raaeru caid itr.$rtttht c.
purpndngmrtdqr.,
cald ftn ltctafrry-
e
Lny deciso.rntg
in deterttnig shrither
aidcs sch is.hi sif'cH
prrctice, .Iaw while
.e'm.
pb1nd
by th nrL
A former city
policc
ofi
ficeri McCaffery,
a
Demo.
crat, bccume a Mruricipql
Coun
judge
itr 1991,' rifi$s
Case ID: 140203044
Pr, $upnmo Coun Justlcr Srmu P. l{cCrflery in 2008 with wife Lise apport, his chief
aide, whoge referral fees from law firms are at issue. Guzagq oorrf,tsox/ srtrftoroorehor
was $ource of referral
fees in 209 and 2011.
$tate law reguires off
cials to include only the
nmes of those who prc-
vde income to the offi-
eial's household, not
amorlnts or other details.
McCaffery aleo listed a
2Ol2
payment from the
firrn of Philadelphia law-
yer
Leonard Fodera. In
thig. inetmce,
'gthei
sourt
recsrds
.revenl
:
tat the
firrr
p+id
Rapaport
$821,O0O
latt
'yean
Tht
qag.
her'shr of
.s
muti-
milliondollai'setttement
stemmin$hom a' civil law-
suit:ledfy ttrc,fuuity of a
Nprthea$t,
.,Philadlphi,r
bo left
,
rpicly impaird
afrer treatinfit at a Phila'
-delphi-troo$tgl,*
tte amouit became
pub-
llc orly, thrg.ugh
,a,
prwi'
aio, in' t .,Irrw..thst rc-
'guires
ridt details bs
It s not unmmon fol,
th
HBI nd theJuficeDs"
partrnent
to toot lnto a
rnatter, sopetines for
lengtby pcr.iodp;'
d to
conclude . there is' no
,and no
comc atls
federal
don't. sofirnl
ed nine for:ner and ciu-
rsst TIhffic Corrt
judees
on' chalgos of fixing tiok
ets.
Ltc last year,
a consul
ant's rcport conrsrissionsd
by officists of the nhihdel-
phia courts
gggg?b{
tbri
McCafrery
he.d
r.d a tick-
et giiren b ii r+if; ildaf-
deny t}t existene or Donr
existence of
.
invertiga-
tions sid: Pattr frt-
maft, a snkeenroma''for,
the U,$,' Attoraqfr Offi,co.
!.
Case ID: 140203044
fery ha.s adamantly denied
nvoluement. He was nt
arong
those charyed by
the
grand
jury
and the
Aard
jur/s
isdirrents in'
clude no reference to the
tick*t involvirtg hs v/ife.
Rapaport holds an under-
graduate
degre from Har-
vard University and a law
degroe fton the University
of Pennqylvana. Before
joning
her hsband's
judi.
cial staff in 1997, she
worked for forr
yea$
as an
assistant disFict attomey
anq I
years
as a
private
lawr. speciallzin g. in fami-
y law.
11r Iquirgr hae rercrt-.
ed that McCaffery nrled,
, on fi nunbef
'of
.'case
bc-
fg.the $upmrrfs' Crt in-'
wtving fims
:
ftom*nrhicb ;
Rpa.pon had derivrt r
'femilfee$.
Ile did:so witli.
qut
advieind;ldqyygra ,
ifi-
volred in i cascs'about,,
the'fee,ar-rarigilent,
:
.'
'
. Itfe's ro,c;rridenpc to
Eugiest'that hc wted on
'sareg.
'n .rhich his. wife
bsdrivedfets',,.
':
-.'
-,
Mcfafiery
qf i4,'however,
st on otle csee-in trhich
Fu addndr horeve, at
he did not tbiirk,ltcCaffery
.'lrad
h discDs dhe'fesi to
Iawyers iin', cqE-s
lbfor.e
.
him,Ihro ther.!rs dis'
grood and caled for discki
irurs.tilonr If. Fndnun
.of
Hoiu University Lsw
$cboot : nd ' Iesf- sr,
^brauou
of tbe Unittmity-
of Lqrigvit.Law $droo[' .
Goftsy C. llazard ft.;
an emerifiu prcfessor at
'tbe
Univcru of
.Fenqgyl-
vai+Iw Sc,hool and .the
Hsfi
nr+
Co[eg Shool f
Law in San FTancirco,
$'ent frrthcr; IIc aid Mv
Cffeq' shorld not, h've
participated
fu any ca in.
volving a firnr rhat had
bgen s
golce
of refertl
fees for his wifs.:
However, Bruce Lde-
witq pmfesr
of law at
Qpqueme,Univensity,
srid
h did not think Mtsf-
fry was udr ari otis-
ton to tell litigants about
the referral fees.
In three letters to The
Inqurer in March and
April, Rassias, of the Beas-
ley Firrn, strongly defend-
ed McCaffery and Rapa-
port.
He said tle new*pa-
per had engaged in a
"slan-
derous canrpaign" to pry
into
"fs.
fiapaprfs legiti-
mate
'and
proper
legal
businesg relationships
'#ith
her colleagueo.l
.
Rssiao, has trffied'tltt in
2A0L the year nspqport
rnadpendffnd
$retreqi
l, ted to tn,+gil'''
fee rho
'
was; on unpeid:
Ieve Tm ths urt Thfft
,tlitt
cci$ed
wiftiwr
'hd
:'ftlom
for itg
lFaS
sh.,lrs a'paid a$er
it hr htsbsnd Supror
practicin$
ta,
,
.
Case ID: 140203044
fissfas lso'argro{ ln
ths lr r{ letfttr Th
InqurT, that thglr ws E
-contltlng
nle' abbut
. crxtrt aidr'pr:ctiqing bw.
llist rtid thi rrlc
stipthted thpt it roup b
Sapaporfr hubnd ag her
diat:ilDclior, and not
,thc
cicf
jurtbe,
to dbside
wbethcr h
'oorld
prac-
tico ht
*
if rsft$l
f.lts
uren thc p|ptiae
of.law-
Rain csltrt rhis
'the
on rud only rulc' on
point
". .
In tc runt inrvi,
Ctitlc ald rclhner oD
,tltlr
rulc would rstc
$r
tionr undcr thc cttp Etlr-
im Act
- l'Obrlourlyr
Uro Rp-
port wrr nro*lg thcc
csc out of Scrtu' of'
Ttr, and *hcacrnr rhc r+
ccivad r nfral f, it's
meriirl
proprtr,' Caitillc
rld.
-.Ilut
r$d tpprr
to bc
Juil
*
dvcn
thot,
frelt
-
r vlohtlon of the
Ethlsr rtt.'
onlrcl
Cn H. lcCoy
ol lt9-t$a.l,2l or
frfl{:coyicrpfl{ yrrwr.curr.
tl lllrw tlr f*rtlrt
,{iCrilOfttlr(ry
Case ID: 140203044
EXHIBIT P-4
Case ID: 140203044
srclrE wtKtilsoil
SIGNE WILKINSON / The Philadelphia lnquirer (wilkins@phillynews.com)
B
$rnrrte
@rJrd$
fit'htnsq
gtrplols
{r trerv)
in
hischarnbe 4
16...
PLAINTIFF'S
EXHIBIT
I
P. 4
Case ID: 140203044
EXHIBIT P-5
Case ID: 140203044
INOUIRER EXCLUSIVE
hrobeof
mhhwfrrms
nnsylvada Justlce Seamus
McCaffery. Authorities seek
information from law firms on
referral fees and campaign
donations. roM GRALTsH / Stan
The Supreme Court
justice
and fees
paid
to
his wife are the subject
of federal subpoena^s.
By Ctnig R ll{c0oy
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
In the ongoing federal investi-
gation
of Sate Supreme Court
Justice Seamus P. Mcaffery
pmsecutons
have seryed zubpoe-
nas on numerous law frms,
seeking detailed infomation
about referal fees
paid
to Mc-
Caffeds wife.
Vetemn defense lawyer John
\il. Moris, who represents one
of the eight frrms refemed cases
by McCaffe4/s wife, Lise Rapa-
port,
said his client turned over
records liast montth.
The federal
grand
jury
subpoe-
nas to law frrms.also dernanded
information about campaign do-
nations to McCaffery according
to Morris and Charles E.
Schmidt Jr., a top attorney n'ith
See ]trClffiT on 418
PLAINTIFF'S
EXHIBIT
?.5
Case ID: 140203044
-..
t,
. was
the
in
ecom-
at least oe
consider-
an auto,
to identi-
over to
cochair of
did dis-
over a of years
a dient
dis-
law-
Phila.
f:
to li
forfri intervffi
with TIre In- 2oA3;,
this ye
Caffery and
one of the lawyer'
cases by Rapa. preme
federal
Case ID: 140203044
EXHIBIT 6
Case ID: 140203044
rQ
1'-
1
1
2
3
4
q
6
.-1
I
9
10
11
1,2
13
L4
t_5
L6
L1
18
I9
20
2L
22
23
24
25
N THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
FTRST JUDICIAL DISTRTCT OF PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL TRIAL DIVISION
INTERTRUST GCN, LP., et al.
VS.
ocroBER TERM, 2013
INTERSTATE GENERAL
MEDIA, LLC, et al. NO.00654
NTERTRUST GCN, LP, ntertrust
GCN GP, LLC, general partner,
et al.
ocroBER TERM, 2013
vs.
INTERSTATE GENERAL MED]A, LLC NO. 001681
November 15, 2073
Room 630,
Philadelphia,
City Hall
Pennsylvania
BEFORE: THE HONORABLE PATR]CIA McINERNEY, J
1 of 35 sheets Page L to 1 of 91 LLll8/20t3 04i45i12 PM
Case ID: 140203044
Case ID: 140203044
Case ID: 140203044
EXHIBIT 7
Case ID: 140203044
From : Bob Hall
[mailto:
rha I I l30(comcast. net]
Senft Mon3l4l20L3 6:35 AM
To: Marimow, William
Subject:
Good Morning;
I will tell you I am disappointed in the story. Placed on front page? We do not say the fees are routine and
proper (although we know they are) but quote there attorney (which both of us knows what that sounds
like to the reader). That was the statement you and I talked about yesterday to be sure we told readers..
And we even state how the cases turned out to make it appear improper. They only drew scrutiny after
we raised the issue and a lot depends on how we asked the question.
When we know that we have a delicate situation, we should have been overly sure that the story would
be read fairly.
lwillcallyou late this afternoon.
Bob
Case ID: 140203044