Update on Dale Mallory's Felony Investigation
Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the West End Community Council bank account to CASH. This is a copy of that check. Notice that it wasn’t to the Urban League, YMCA or the Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, this check was made out to CASH. When you hear that Dale cut checks for social causes, that is pure cover. Look at the check. This is the check that closed down the WECC account.State Reps Gone Wild
Edited By Gregory Flannery
Two criminal investigations alleging possible voter fraud and embezzlement are lingering from 2006, and local law enforcement officials say they're not sure when the probes will be completed. One investigation involves a dispute between newly elected State Rep. Dale Mallory (D-West End) and the West End Community Council. The other probe involves State Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr. (R-Mount Lookout) and questions about whether signatures were intentionally forged on an aborted petition drive seeking to overturn the city's Human Rights Ordinance.
In each investigation -- the Cincinnati Police Department in the former, the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office in the latter -- officials say the matters involved are so complicated that they require extra time and effort, and they wouldn't estimate when the inquiries would be completed.
People who lodged the complaints that sparked the investigations, however, say the allegations depend on a fairly straightforward series of facts that should be easily discernable if they have any merit.
In May 2006, Dale Mallory wrote checks totaling $1,119 that emptied the West End Community Council's bank account, which occurred more than three months after his impeachment as the group's president and a few weeks after his lawsuit seeking reinstatement was dropped. Mallory has said the money was for an arts program at the YMCA that the council had authorized in February, but community council leaders said no vote was ever taken. The council filed a complaint in June with Cincinnati Police, alleging embezzlement.
A month later, Police Lt. Col. James Whalen told the council that the Mallory investigation was turned over to the FBI to avoid a possible conflict of interest; Mallory's brother, Mayor Mark Mallory, has oversight responsibility for the Police Department. FBI agents, though, later said the allegations didn't involve enough money to merit their involvement and handed the case back to police. It's now been more than 230 days since the bank account was closed.
Police Lt. Steve Kramer, the department's major fraud investigations commander, is handling the investigation. Lt. Tom Lanter, a department spokesman, last week described the probe as "a long-term investigation that is ongoing."
"It's apparently pretty complex and pretty involved," Lanter said. "(Kramer) couldn't even give me an estimation on when they'll be bringing that to a resolution."
Some community council members who have copies of the cancelled checks signed by Mallory are angry that it's taken so long for police to respond, calling it "an open and shut case."
Kudos to CityBeat for continuing to follow the investigation. I just read this article and I will post it again, as well as my reaction to its finer points in the coming days. I wanted to get this out there right now.
What is clear from the reporting is that the CPD has not yet closed the investigation. Dale’s camp likes to claim that there never was an investigation. Not closing the investigation is a convenient cover for the CPD. The CPD never has to disclose facts of an ongoing investigation, and this investigation spans 245 days. This way they don’t have to answer questions, and I am going to have plenty of questions.
I think that they are unwilling to dismiss the case because they would have to offer a plausible explanation of what really happened. I think that political pressure has hurt this investigation, to put it mildly.
In my next post, I am going document the reasons for the call to Simon Leis to take on this investigation. I think it is time for the Lawman to look at the facts.
View the Timeline Right Here
posted by Male Dallory at 12:01 AM
38 Comments:
I just clicked on the timeline and read all those posts. Man, what a trip down memory lane.
I've been reading the stuff in the news, but this is the most comprehensive, well documented and factual accout yet!
With CPD and Lawson's buddy Deters stonewalling, the options are not too good.
The next best bet is to report this to the Ohio AG and implicate CPD and Deters for their cover-up and sham investigation.
Poppa Bill's "extended family" i.e. the kids from all his girlfriends are EVERYWHERE in the DAs, a Judge, @BOE, EVERYWHERE.
Has anyone attempted to contact Leis?
I dont think that anyone can argue that the public hasnt shown patience. I dont think anyone can argue that the public didnt try to work with CPD. On the surphace this seems to be an outragious political move to cover up the obvious
The CPD investigation was called off before it even started. The Mallory's had the officers investigate the impeachment instead. That is Mallory justice. It is a joke. Bring on Si Leis.
Si's folks were approached and didn't bite.
Next stop, OH A.G.
Dale's due in Court on February 9 to explain how & when he's going to pay off CadleRock, the loan company he signed an agreement with. It's now an enormous sum of cash, as the interest meter is running at over $14 a day. Plaintiff's counsel knows all too well that Dale has finally secured W2 employment.
Anon 6:36 - Deters stepped away from the Law Pooch Lawson quite sometime ago. The Poodle started to get a bit too big for his britches & a bit too loud in the mouth to qualify for Joe's Judges List. Besides, Lawson's been screwing over clients like those horney animals at the Zoo.
CPD, bless everyone of them, but I find it hard to accept that this business of Dale raping & sodomizing the West End Community Council that "complex" & "pretty involved". I truly do. Goodness knows residents & people in the know have given them pages & pages of facts, proof, & honest reports.
When the election came & went, I noticed the smell became ever stronger, even though I didn't want to admit it. The smell was Big Daddy Mallory's dirty Depends that had permeated the CPD investigation. Truth be told, Big Daddy has plenty to do with this, as he has in steering the "careers" of all his failure offspring. If it weren't for Big Daddy, they certainly wouldn't be where they are today.
People have shown a tremendous amount of patience & have given total cooperation to CPD on this crime against the WECC. That said, let's see what the Magistrate does to Dale in February & then let's put this on the front burner & turn the heat up to full throttle. By then, Sheriff Si & Ohio AG Marc Dann (as other folks have suggested) just might be willing to sink their chops into it.
However, at the get-go, I refused to let go of this. I continue to pray & put my best thoughts on it. This is for justice for the West End folks, for goodness sake. It's justice for everyone who's been hoodwinked & screwed over by the Mallorys.
BTW, excellent story pick up! The Truth Squad is back in the saddle again! Let's GO!!!
"Anonymous said...
Carstairs,
Can you help me understand how Gobel is tied to the mallorys? I am particuarly interested as it seems that the Mallorys have surrounded themselves with thugs and the pulic needs someone to keep track and point this out
6:32 AM "
Anon 6:32, pardon the delay in getting to you with an answer. One documented fact is that Gobel Bean was a paid outside poll worker during Dale's run up to the 32nd seat. That's solid.
Although the Truth Squad hasn't done an expose' on Gobel Bean like it has with other associated notables, he's been with the BCF for many, many years, & in between a stint in prison for aggravated robbery. Imagine that. That insulated him from the Genesis fallout.
But you'll remember Bean set the wheels in motion for Howdy to cap off Kabaka Oba. Bean was initially the instigator in threatening & making mouth noises to Kabaka. There's Court documentation to support this.
To make a long story short, anyone associated with the BCF has ties to the Mallory Mob. The BCF is the fixers for whatever needs fixing. With Howdy behind bars & a bus ride to the joint in the future for Gobel Bean, it's anyone's guess who the Mallorys will recruit to fill out the thinning herd.
BTW, Gobel Bean has that Felony 3 purse snatching from an elderly woman in Northside & one no-nonsense Judge who will be hearing the case. When Gobel couldn't pick up a couple of dimes in the West End, he shuffled up to Northside. Those folks in Northside will bash his face in & stomp his hindquarters in the Court Room. (Remember this for the CityLink garbage. The felons will migrate.)
Apparently, with Junebug "retiring", Bean's out of a job slopping floors, cleaning toilets & doing "odd jobs" for the BCF & the Mallorys. And no, he doesn't have Kenny the Law Pooch representing him in Court. Bean's lived out his useful purposes. A very wise lady in the West End told me the outfit will leave Bean out to dry & figure this mess out for himself. And she's right. Bean can't make his bail & none of his associates & boss-men have stepped up with the money.
Anon 6:32, feel free to take this & run with it. What little I have given you has documentation to support it. This is the Truth Squad, we don't fabricate stories, lies & rumors here. When I get some time, I'll research Gobel Bean & hopefully, we can get Maestro Dallory to post it for future reference.
Carstairs,
BCF????
I love your posts, but sometimes I miss out on abbreviations.
What is BCF?
Regards,
Kit Cat
A long time lurker at City Hall
And here's another zinger from City Beat/Porkopolis.
Faced with Revolt, Mallory Backs Up
Faced with a possible revolt by a Cincinnati City Council majority, Mayor Mark Mallory decided Thursday evening to delay scheduled votes on two appointments to area policy-making boards.
City council was expected to vote on Mallory’s recommendations to appoint Councilman David Crowley to the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District (TID) and reappoint Councilman John Cranley to the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI).
A five-member council faction that defied Mallory during budget negotiations last month was upset that the mayor hadn’t recommended reappointing Councilman Jeff Berding to the TID board. At the same time, Mallory told council members they should reappoint Cranley to OKI as a “professional courtesy” as Cranley still was on council and interested in keeping the position.
The faction alleged that Mallory was applying a double standard to the appointments, punishing Berding for disagreeing with the mayor on the budget and rewarding Cranley for supporting Mallory’s proposals. As a result, the council bloc — which includes Berding, Chris Bortz, Laketa Cole, Leslie Ghiz and Chris Monzel — was considering blocking Cranley’s reappointment.
Mallory huddled with some of the council members involved in the dispute shortly before Thursday’s meeting, then announced that votes on the items would be delayed by at least one week. It’s expected that the two competing factions will try to reach a compromise in that time.
The board appointments involve helping make important policy decisions for the region and are hotly sought after by city council members. The TID board oversees transportation planning in the area and decides which road projects are priorities; OKI coordinates projects among area cities and townships and helps allocate millions of dollars in federal grants.
— Kevin Osborne
Kit Cat, I'm sorry. I got in a hurry on that one. BCF was coined by other members of the dazzling Truth Squad. BCF is the Beatty Crime Family.
Thanks so much for your kind comments. I truly appreciate it.
Kit Cat,
Do you like Being There (at City Hall?).
Understand Nate, Dickie W. and the Bug are regulars at 3M's inner sanctum.
I see that the blog from the dark side admits to the Mallory Mafia paying the Dwarf to pimp their hate messages.
I guess installing car CDs in the Mallory parking lot for Dan P doesn't pay well enough.
Understand the noose is tightening on all the secret illegal Mallory land deal flip flops.
cheers!
Hello All,
Carstairs asked for a Northside report on today's Neighborhood Summit.
Saw a table full of Truth Squarders hunched over and getting ready to ask a question.
D4S saw it too, made a lame excuse and hastily left before the mike was given to the Truth Squader.
I'm sure he was expecting a "Where's the money/where are the records?" question. It looked like he saw a ghost.
The other state reps were sharp and knowledgeable. D4S took out his "I'm a Mallory" speech. Tard boy had nothing else to say.
No one clapped.
Love,
Carstairs Jr.
Made it to the neighborhood rah-rah-session for the afternoon at X-Cintas. Liked the work of incorporating kids into the mix of elders and youngers. Good tactic. What was the matter with ol D$S?
Sphincter Boy hit the mic with the same worn Mallory tripe on campaigns and community and then kept walking off the stage to adjust his shorts so he could breathe. The delusional one did not participate with the other representatives. Like 'em or not, Yates, Drehaus and Brinksmanship got some depth in community work. Dale's got an Daddy Bill manufactured fable. Was up and down the steps off that stage like a duck in a shooting gallery. Can we say in the 32nd to Strickland and Fisher...."taxation without representation is tyranny!?" Should send him a copy of the litany: The Tale of Dale For Sale!
Saw Dale at Summit today.
Other than the I'm a Mallory crap, the A..hole claimed to fight against the Jet Inn liquor licence.
Dale shilled for the Jet Inn and wrote a LETTER OF SUPPORT behind the WECC back.
Just one more bit of Mallory revisionist history.
I attended the Neighborhood Summit today and witnessed the performance by our new state rep. THE HONORABLE DALE MALLORY. All the reps. from the City of Cincinnati neighborhoods were present. Mallory was a complete embarrassment!!!! He is a guest at his own brother's citywide event and he doesn't have the class to answer any questions or even stay with the other reps. as they fielded citizens questions. I was dumb enough to vote this guy in, I should have believed the word on the street . He will do nothing as our representative. Steve Driehaus expressions showed he was obviously confused with Mallory's childish behavior. Shame on me for not doing my research before I voted .
Anon 6:57
He claimed he fought the Jet Inn????
As a citizen that actually attended the hearings both in Cincinnati AND Columbus, I can attest that slimeball D4S sold out the WECC on this one.
Jet Inn defense whipped out a letter of support from D4S!
The WECC voted to go the other way....D4S caved to Jet Inn $$$$ and sold out his constiuants just one more time. 50 lobbiests for each state rep means a ton of bribes for that crook.
I'm glad I didn't go yestrday....I would have puked.
All,
I was just thinking we missed an excelent opportunity to use hand outs at the Neighborhood summit with the impeach mallory blog web site. We could have picked up many new readers and gone a long way to exposing DMs crap. I guess there is always next year
I was one of those 100 or so who didn't attend the Summit this year. I understand from the media that only about 400 showed up. Thanks for the timely, colorful reports.
"I should have believed the word on the street."
Anon 10:59, you didn't have to go to the street to get the FACTS on D4S. Everything you needed to know was right here all along.
Dale isn't going to do crapola for the 32nd & he's off to a rip-roaring start by disrespecting "constituents" who were in attendance at the Neighborhood Summit. As for standing up to revoking Jet Inn's liquor license, I'll believe it when I see it. When the chips go down, it'll be up to the West End folks to elbow their way into City Hall & speak up. Dumb Dale's far & beyond getting his hands dirty now. Why, the boy's got W2 employment!!!!
On Gobel Bean, associate of the Beatty Crime Family & a stooge for the Mallory Mob - didn't find too much, other than the fact that he worked at Junebug's & the Parktown.
However, in 1993-1994 he was in the Super Middleweight/Light Heavy division of boxing. 1 win with a KO, 3 losses, total 4 fights. In 1994, he was sent to the state joint for Felony 1 Aggravated Robbery & Felony 2 Robbery. He hasn't been out that long.
With that F3 purse snatching hanging over his head, the Mallorys are losing a fine, fine, fix-it boy.
It's nice to see the flurry of reports of the summit meeting.
It sure underscores what a burden the Mallorys have placed on the 32nd for 40 years.
Mallorys PROFIT FROM POVERTY and dependency.
Their response to opposition is sending the BCF, the Dwarf and the boyz in black out to do their dirty work.
They live on drugs, crime and corruption throughout the state, city and judicial system.
Poppa M. is pulling the strings and
keeping D4S out of jail.
DALE MALLORY NEWS BULLETIN!!!
Another loyal Truth Squader has been carefully watching Court documents, particularly case A9706429.
It seems Plaintiff, Cadlerock & their attorney decided not to waste a lot of time on this, seeing J4D has W2 employment. On Tuesday, 1/23, the Plaintiff's attorney filed garnishment papers on Dale. Oh yes he did.
We're talking the base due amount of $17,298.81 plus the interest meter running at a furious pace since April 24, 1998.
However, this doesn't excuse Dale from appearing before the Magistrate on 2/6/07 at 9AM for an Execution Hearing. (That's execution of any orders on findings pertaining to all monies due & owing.)
Thanks loyal Truth Squader for giving me a heads up - you know who you are.
Our buddy Ed Ratterman is at it again. Ed was seen pushing a plan to give the old empire theater property to crossroads metical health facility. In Eds plan the city will donate the property to Crossroads but not before the pave it and install a state of the art ornate and motor operated security fence. For those of you that dont know Ed. Ed works in the Cities Economic development group. Ed is the one that spearheaded Citylink and attempted to cram it down the throats of the residence. Ed seems to have a mission to give away our city and increase the social services in our city. Why dont we consider giving this property to a business in order to attract them. What is Ed doing while main street dies?
BCF Associate Update
Gobel Bean, an associate of the Beatty Crime Family & a fixer for the Mallory Mafia, had his attorney filed papers in the Court that he's Not Guilty by reason of insanity for the January 5 Felony 3 purse snatching in Northside. The papers were filed last week for Case B0700244.
Oh yeah, right. Just another stall tactic. He can tell it to the Judge later in the week. Updates as they become available. He's still sitting in the jail, wearing those nice threads & eating slop on a tray.
Looks like the Law Poodle wasted no time getting sued by another screwed-over client and evicted again:
http://www.courtclerk.org/case_summary.asp?sec=party&casenumber=07CV02013
http://www.courtclerk.org/case_summary.asp?sec=history&casenumber=A%200700886
Dale Mallory/Cadlerock Update:
Sheriff's Deputies went with court papers on 1/30/07 to Dayton St. They were unable to serve Dale. He's due to appear in Court on 2/6.
The return notice was filed at the Court House, serving the Ohio Dept. of Admin Services, for the garnishment of Dale's wages.
Our trusted Court House Gadfly will be flitting around on Tuesday.
"Looks like the Law Poodle wasted no time..."
His miniature Coffee/Newspaper/Car washer Gnat has been picked up in Northside again. This time, wheeling around without insurance. He was a no show, his capias was recalled. Rather than call the lizard with cheap insurance, the Gnat is going to represent himself & take it to a Non-Jury trial. Guess he has a Civics assignment from his GED class to get up & play actor-attorney. And he steadfastly claims he's not a criminal.
You know, these birds are 3 of a kind. 3 Stooges. Stay tuned.
"Looks like the Law Poodle wasted no time getting sued by another screwed-over client..."
Cridy! We could start a blog on Lawson dicking over clients!
07CV02013 is a small claims case. JC forked over to Lawson $750 to take his case. Lawson missed 2 Arraignment Desk hearings. A warrant was issued for JC's arrest. Since then, it's the usual Lawson scam crap - refuses to take the dude's calls & of course, refuse to return the money. That $750 no doubt went to gas up his Gnat's Ford Explorer & get him a little loco weed down on Witler St. in Northside.
A0700886: TM is currently in the London pen. Lawson took this case, rolled over on this guy & dealed him out. Another typical Lawson trademark. Lawson refuses to turn over TM's property to a designated family member - it's some tapes. So, TM isn't getting mad, he's getting even. In fact, he wants to be brought out of the pen to actively participate in the case. That's a little overboard, but it's the guy's right to do so, on our taxpayer dime, of course.
These guys need to file complaints with the Ohio Supremes on Lawson & get his license jerked. One lawyer clown rooked over 6 clients & his license has been revoked indefinitely. Gosh, could it happen here in Hamilton County? Muzzle the Law Pooch & his faithful Gnat? I'll have my "associate" get with these guys with instructions on what to do.
Somebody ought to file a long and detailed bar complaint on the Law Poodle. The TS ought to be able to handle that. With all of the screwing over of clients, tax liens, etc. he's just a part of the crime family. Who's protecting him? Deters? 3M? Daddy M?
B 0609512
www.courtclerk.org B 0609512
Who's protecting him?
It isn't Deters. He's done with the Poodle. And it isn't B0609512.
It's /06/TRD/60338, ticket #75/3593207.
The criminal owner of case 06TRD60338 didn't have the cajones to post Alcatraz's info on this case:
C/06/CRB/38946
Little Law Poodle is sitting in the tank, finishing out a 180 day sentence for possessing a firearm in a motor vehicle & other assorted bad behavior. The Judge gave him a chance - get enrolled in school, stay out of Lockland & Lincoln Heights, but Little Kenny blew his probation, so the Judge called it a day while Little Kenny was being escorted off in bracelets. (No, Mr. Mumbles-Daddy Poodle- didn't represent his kid - he had a public defender on our dime, friends.)
Informed individuals said this damned kid is a consummate drug dealer out in the Valley. He's a real pain in the tookus. Was bunking in the shotgun shacks out in Lincoln Heights, where Kabaka once took a shower & brushed his teeth. Started toting guns around to screw buyers off on deals.
And it's a good bet that the Mallorys are still pulling Daddy Poochie's strings. He's got a few more miles left on him before they toss him to the curb like they did with Gobel Bean.
Someone went to Leroy's bail company to get Bean out of the can. If I had to venture a guess, it was relatives. I seriously doubt that his criminal connections would cough up a sureity to get him out. Case is continued to March, as he's doing the insanity thing.
The TS can only do so much on complaining to the Ohio Supremes about Lawson. The complaint board needs to hear from the people who were screwed over, along with documented evidence that they've been unfairly denied their due course of action. It's a matter of time & Lawson's sticks of office furniture & sorry help will be out on Race Street, wondering what to do next. A matter of time. His miniature shadow can probably install CD players in cars outside City Hall. He does an excellent job, complete satisfaction guaranteed.
Dear Mr. Dallory,
Not much activity on this board lately.
Friday will be the 1 year anniversary of Dale's impeachment.
Please give us a special report celebrating this wonderful milestone to West End history.
Your Pal,
Socko's ghost
Oh Oh. I just noticed on the Dean's Beacon blog feeds that the impeach Mallory square has been filled in with someone else's blog.
Does that mean the Truth Squad is now irrelevant? Absolutely not.
Stay tuned.
From today's Whistleblower:
Mad Dawg Kenneth Lawson's many screwed-over clients are cordially invited to attend the upcoming performance in the courtroom of Judge Alex Triantafilou (pronounced Alex) on Friday, March 9 at 9:30, when Mad Dawg will have to face the music in yet another malpractice case.
~~ This will be a double feature, since Mad Dawg will soon have another trial with Judge Alex later in the month.
What happened to the drama dwarf? Did he get hisself arrested? His boss get evicted again?
What happened to the drama dwarf? Did he get hisself arrested? His boss get evicted again?
Back in January, the drama dwarf treated himself to a traffic ticket on Witler St. "Crack Alley" in Northside. Couldn't produce his driver's license. Written up on the FRA statute, & the vehicle was impounded.
The Dwarf failed to appear twice in Court. When he did show up, he had a bunch of papers, stupid worthless Motions. Went on a racial tirade in these papers on the Officer who pulled him over.
It was dealt down to failure to produce the driver's license & surprise! The Dwarf paid his Court fees.
The moral of the story is Don't mess with Northside, because you'll get your behind scorched.
Naw, Kenny didn't get evicted again. It's better than that. The City's hot on his heels for failure to pay City payroll tax. The City worked with him on a payment plan & Lawson welched on the deal. Typical. Owes a lot of money. Go to the Court records, plug in A0701545 & you can get some of the details.
Update on another Kenny Funny: Kenny Jr. is locked up in the county jail, doing 180 days for having a gun in the car. Judge cut him a break early in the game, put him on probation. The punk blew it. He's notorious for drug dealing out in Lincoln Heights & Lockland. Judge ordered him out of both areas. He muffed it & the Judge locked him up. Daddy Kenny filed a Motion to Mitigate the sentence, putting Little Kenny back on probation, community service & all that jazz. Judge dusted off Daddy Kenny. The kid gets out in July. He's in to stay.
The other update is the Law Pooch just got out of Rehab & everyone in the Court System knows it. It's still the laugh of the Court House.
With the mounting debts, the screwed over clients & the substance problems, this loudmouthed Pooch is all but done in this town & he tanked his own career.
Wow. I wonder who helped him get his fixes.
Ken Lawson's painful fall
Last Updated: 6:05 am | Saturday, April 7, 2007
Ken Lawson's painful fall
High-profile lawyer tries to recover from a turn to drugs
BY DAN HORN | DHORN@ENQUIRER.COM
Ken Lawson has heard this story before.
It's about a drug addict who is so desperate to stay high he cheats people, lies to his family and breaks any rule until his life is in ruins.
Lawson, one of Cincinnati's best-known defense lawyers, used to spend hours every day listening to clients share some version of this hard-luck tale. He always wondered why they would risk everything for a handful of pills or a bag of powder.
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But this time the story has a twist.
This time, Lawson is the one telling it.
"I was a liar, a thief, a cheat," Lawson said. "That's who I was."
Lawson told his story this week in interviews with The Enquirer, disclosing for the first time the extent of a drug habit that he says almost cost him his life and may yet cost him his career.
He said he let down clients, colleagues and his family while trying to feed an addiction that included heavy drinking, painkillers, marijuana and cocaine.
By the time he hit bottom in January, Lawson said, he was taking as many as 120 prescription pain pills a day, sometimes while sitting in courtrooms alongside clients, police and prosecutors.
"It's insanity, man. It's insanity," he said. "I can't remember having a sober moment in the last five or six years."
If Lawson's account is accurate, he would have been on drugs during some of his biggest cases - cases that affected the community as well as his clients. They include civil rights lawsuits against the city, the Howard Beatty murder trial last summer and the Collaborative Agreement that changed the way Cincinnati police do business.
As part of his recovery, Lawson said, he's now talking about his drug use and trying to make things right.
"I don't want to be the man I was," he said. "I know I hurt a lot of people - my children, my wife, friends, a lot of people in the community."
Lawson said his drug habit began after a shoulder injury in 1999 and, at first, it didn't affect his work. But eventually he started missing deadlines, nodding off in court and showing up late or not at all for hearings.
His behavior prompted complaints and lawsuits from several former clients. He now is the focus of a disciplinary review that could lead to a suspension or the loss of his law license.
"It was negligence on his part," said Michelle Leahr, one of seven former clients cited by the Cincinnati Bar Association in a complaint against Lawson. She accuses Lawson of failing to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her brother.
"I thought he had more credibility than that," Leahr said. "He left my family hanging in the wind."
Lawson, who says that as of Friday, he's been sober for 65 days, is trying to salvage what he can of his career and his life. He went through a rehab program, attends 12-step meetings daily and is apologizing to judges, colleagues, his family and others he misled or let down.
The list is a long one.
He is hoping for forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. But the man who built a career on a go-it-alone, tough guy image - the self-proclaimed "Junkyard Dog" of the legal profession - knows he is asking a lot.
"I did wrong," he said. "I need to suffer the same consequences as anyone else."
OBSESSED WITH PILLS
Lawson's apologies now are striking because, since opening his practice in 1993, he has promoted himself as an unapologetic rabble-rouser, a man who went out of his way to irritate and agitate.
A huge photo of Lawson, striking a defiant pose in sunglasses and a black leather coat, still greets visitors to his downtown office. Another poster shows Lawson as the "Warlord," surrounded by skulls, camouflage-clad women and a decapitated head.
"Until there is justice," the poster reads, "there will be no peace."
The wall art matched his approach to the job. He built a reputation as a smart, aggressive lawyer and he touted himself to clients, particularly African-Americans, as a man who wasn't afraid to fight the system.
After several high-profile cases and celebrity clients like Deion Sanders, Lawson was arguably the city's most recognizable lawyer by the mid-1990s.
Then, in 1999, he hurt his shoulder lifting weights and started taking prescription painkillers. He said the pills, mainly Percocet and Oxycontin, took away the stress of his job and the fear of failure that he says has dogged him most of his life.
"It made me feel good. It helped me relax," Lawson said. "The pills are like, 'I'm here with you. It's OK. Go try the case.' "
Soon, six pills a day became a dozen. Then, two dozen.
By last year, Lawson said, he was washing down 30 to 40 before he got out of bed in the morning, 30 more at lunch, 30 more in the afternoon and more throughout the night.
Once, he said, he packed 1,000 pills to get him through a family vacation in Disney World.
Lawson said he found a doctor willing to write prescriptions either for him or for people who would get the drugs and sell them to him. Sometimes, he said, he would fill the prescriptions himself despite the risk of being spotted on store security cameras.
"I didn't care," Lawson said. "You didn't want to run out of pills."
He said he devoted much of his day to getting the pills he'd need to stay high. "It was a lot of work," he said. "I was out in snowstorms trying to get to the pharmacy."
Lawson said he consumed every pill he got and never sold them to anyone else.
"I never sold dope in my life," he said. "Pills were gold."
'CHAOTIC LIVING'
Lawson is not charged with any crime.
Prosecutor Joe Deters said he is unaware of any investigation in Hamilton County.
"It's really a tragedy," said Deters, who has known Lawson for years. "Addictions are very powerful."
The complaints with the Bar Association make no mention of drug use, but medical records Lawson provided to The Enquirer include a drug assessment and treatment plan from Christ Hospital.
His doctors declined to comment, but the assessment confirms his recent stint in a Columbus rehab program and states that Lawson used drugs "throughout the day." It describes his weaknesses as "chaotic living, chemically dependent."
Lawson said "chaotic" is the best way to describe his life during the past few years.
In 2004, he said, he separated from his wife, Marva, and spent six months partying and consuming powder cocaine on a regular basis.
He said the drug made him so paranoid and exhausted he couldn't do his job, so he quit taking it. But soon, he said, he ratcheted up his consumption of painkillers.
Lawson said he later moved back with his wife and five children and did his best to conceal his habit. He said his wife, who declined to comment for this article, never knew the extent of his drug use.
But he said she and others knew he was in trouble.
"I suspected there might be a problem, but he was extremely busy and had a huge clientele," said Common Pleas Judge Steven Martin, who learned of the drug problem when Lawson told him last month. "It pains me to see somebody go through this."
With rumors about him swirling at the courthouse, Lawson said, he made up a story to cover for his tardiness and increasingly ragged appearance.
He told people he was dying of ALS, the illness known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
"I couldn't admit I was an addict," Lawson said.
MORE PROBLEMS, MORE DRUGS
But it was getting harder to conceal his problems.
At the peak of his addiction last year, he said, he was spending up to $800 a day on drugs. His earnings of between $150,000 and $200,000 a year couldn't cover his habit, so he started falling into debt.
He let go staff and lawyers because he couldn't pay them, and he fell about four months behind in payments on his Glendale house.
"I kept druggin' up the money," Lawson said. "I kept thinking I just have to make it to next week, and I'll have more money."
The IRS auctioned his 37-foot boat, the "Law Dog," last year to pay off some of the $600,000 the government claims he owes in back taxes. His BMW and Expedition were repossessed, and he sold his motorcycle and 1967 GTO convertible for a fraction of their value.
At the same time, clients were filing complaints and at least four lawsuits accusing him of missing deadlines and taking money for work he did not perform.
The Bar Association also accuses him of "failure to cooperate" because he produced files for just two of the seven cases under investigation.
The Ohio Supreme Court's Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, which reviews complaints about lawyers, found there was "probable cause" to conduct a hearing about the complaints. That will happen in the next few months.
Lawson filed a response to the complaints Friday, admitting he made mistakes in several cases but saying his memory is hazy about details because of his drug use during that period.
He said he would reimburse clients he owes money and asked the board to consider his clean record before his addiction when deciding whether to punish him.
Lawson spoke generally this week about his performance and admitted there were problems. On one occasion, he said, he took about $15,000 from a client fund that held payments for services he had not yet performed.
"I had a degree in lying," he said. "I had a degree in stealing."
HITTING BOTTOM
By January, Lawson said, he spent much of his time in bed, popping pills.
"I wanted to die," he said. "I remember taking pills, crying. I couldn't stop."
He said he drove to the Columbus treatment center for a detoxification program and spent the next five days shaking, sweating and crying in bed. When he got sober, he said, the mess he'd made of his life hit him "like a Mack truck."
Lawson said he now hopes to pay his debts, including working out a payment plan for his mortgage, and to begin earning back the trust of his family, friends and clients.
"I'm ashamed of what I did," he said.
Lawson said he hopes talking publicly about his problems will help others who might be starting down the path that he spent more than six years traveling.
He's not sure what will happen next, but he knows stories like his often don't have happy endings.
He could lose his practice, his friends, everything.
Sitting in his office last week, Lawson lit a cigarette and considered that possibility, and what he would do if he couldn't practice law.
"Whatever is in front of me," he said, "is going to be a whole lot better than what's behind me."
Wow. I wonder who helped him get his fixes.
I wouldn't be surprised that his kid Little Kenny & his miniature boy-servant, N8, scored his weed, his blow & crack.
Little Kenny was a fixture out in Lincoln Heights & Lockland with guns & drugs. And everyone knows N8's in a shack down on Northside's Crack Alley. Tweezy & the boyz always have an inventory of rope & rocks.
Bottom line, these clowns are so done in this town. It's long overdue.
The big question is, what is the Mallory Mafia going to do for free backroom legal advice? Cheesy! Their herd is thinning fast!
Howdy - gone. Bean - going to go. Lawson - hammered. N8 - stoned.
Lawson was a lier and a theif years before he took his first oxycotin.
I like the teaser at the end of this post. "In my next post....".
This blog uber sucks.
15 days until the 1 year anniversary.
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