| ► Attorney Thomas Molinaro of Wausau, WI; ethical leprechaun |
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Attorney Thomas Molinaro of Wausau, WI; ethical leprechaun The state of Wisconsin presented Thomas J. Molinaro with a law license in 1977 after he graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
The Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) found Thomas guilty of the following misconduct
In one matter, Thomas represented a client in a personal injury case. Thomas subsequently received settlement funds of more than $1 million for the client the he deposited into an account that was not an identifiable client trust account and to which he also deposited his personal funds.
Thomas failed to notify TIG, the worker’s compensation carrier in his client’s case and a co-plaintiff in this lawsuit, of his receipt of the settlement funds. Thomas also failed to give TIG a full accounting of the settlement funds and failed to pay the full amount of TIG’s lien for more than six months after his receipt of the $1 million.
Thomas also found it acceptable to temporarily transfer $44,500 from his business account back to the client settlement account, claiming that the transfer was due to a dispute with TIG. In fact, the transfer was a means by which Thomas was able to shift income from one year to the next, thereby achieving an unlawful federal tax advantage.
As a consequence of his misconduct, the enablers for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Courts punished Thomas by gifting him with a complimentary 60-day suspension of his law license.
As we speak (ca. June 2013), Thomas practices at 215 Grand Avenue in Wausau, Wisconsin.
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