YOUNGSTOWN Goldberg's creditors face a filing deadline

Those who don't file by Nov. 16 can't stake a claim to Goldberg's assets.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Creditors who want a piece of Richard Goldberg's assets have until Nov. 16 to get in line.
That's the deadline imposed by Judge Randolph Baxter of U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Cleveland, for creditors to file a claim against the imprisoned medical malpractice attorney.
Atty. Ann Piergo Silagy, court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, said all creditors must file proof of their claim with the clerk of the bankruptcy court in Cleveland.
Anyone who doesn't file by the deadline is barred from participating in distribution of the assets in the case, she said.
Some to be notified: Some creditors were listed on court documents when Goldberg filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year and will automatically be notified of the deadline, Silagy said.
Others who weren't included in the original filing, but still believe they are owed money, can petition the court to include them.
Sought protection: Goldberg, 56, of Liberty Township, filed for bankruptcy protection in January. Among the debts he claimed at the time were $250,000 to the Clients Security Fund, which is maintained by the Ohio Supreme Court to reimburse people who were defrauded by lawyers, and $600,000 to repay a 1999 loan from businessman Anthony Cafaro to help settle some of the estate claims against Goldberg.
Goldberg is serving 57 months in a federal prison for pocketing millions of dollars that should have gone to his former clients as part of lawsuit settlements.
When his federal time is completed, Judge Timothy P. Maloney of Mahoning County Probate Court has ordered that Goldberg serve 21 months in county jail for contempt of court. Judge Maloney ruled that Goldberg concealed or diverted assets that should have been used to pay back his victims.
County court: Goldberg also faces criminal charges in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, where a county grand jury indicted him in March on three counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, 20 counts of forgery, six counts of theft and two counts of taking the identity of another.
He could be sentenced to up to 83 years in prison if convicted of all counts.
bjackson@vindy.com