Trumbull lawyers seek law license suspension

By Ed Runyan

WARREN — Lawyers representing the Trumbull County Bar Association have recommended the immediate suspension of the law license of Atty. George N. Kafantaris of Warren.

Attorneys Randil J. Rudloff and Curtis J. Ambrosy of Warren asked the Ohio Supreme Court to immediately suspend Kafantaris from practicing law to protect the public.

They sought the suspension after news that Kafantaris had been found in contempt Nov. 4 by a judge from Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, leading to a mistrial.

Kafantaris, 55, who has an office on North Park Avenue, was representing George Berendt, 36, of Millet Avenue, on a rape charge before Judge Timothy E. Franken, when Judge Franken declared a mistrial, scolded Kafantaris for being late to court and not following his instructions, and fined Kafantaris $250 for contempt of court.

Judge Franken repeatedly told Kafantaris he was improperly questioning prosecution witnesses about documents written by someone else.

Nov. 4 is the same day the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Ohio Supreme Court recommended that Kafantaris be permanently disbarred for several previous incidents, including actions that led to his indictment recently on a charge of grand theft in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Ambrosy said the reason for asking the Ohio Supreme Court to act immediately to suspend Kafantaris’ law license is that Kafantaris has said he will appeal the recommended permanent disbarment.

It could take six months or more before that issue will be finalized, Ambrosy said, and Kafantaris should be stopped from representing other potential clients.

In Rudloff and Ambrosy’s motion asking for the immediate suspension, the attorneys also mentioned a run-in Kafantaris had with Judge Ashley C. Pike of Columbiana County in January 2007 as evidence that Kafantaris should be suspended immediately.

In that incident, Judge Pike twice found Kafantaris in contempt of court during hearings related to the murder trial of Andrew Irwin of East Liverpool. Kafantaris appealed the judge’s ruling, and the matter is pending in the 7th District Court of Appeals.

Kafantaris was indicted on allegations that he mishandled the $25,000 settlement for a client he represented in a personal injury lawsuit. An investigation indicated that Kafantaris settled the case without notifying the deceased woman’s family and then failed to keep the money in a trust account. He eventually paid the $25,000 to the family, records show.

The next hearing in Kafantaris’ criminal case will be Wednesday before Judge W. Wyatt McKay.