It would appear that this thieving ex-lawyer is in need of an extended stay at Babbling Brooks Farm.
DISBARRED DALLAS ATTORNEY BACK IN JAIL AFTER OFFICE HE WAS EVICTED FROM IS VANDALIZED
By Scott Goldstein
The Dallas Morning News
November 7, 2012
A judge ordered disbarred Dallas lawyer Thomas Corea back in jail Wednesday because he allegedly trashed his Design District office and left obscene graffiti and messages all over the walls after being evicted last month.
Corea was indicted earlier this year on four felonies alleging he stole from his clients. He was arrested, posted $25,000 bond on each of the four charges and was released Sept. 4, according to jail records.
Weeks later, Corea was evicted for not paying rent for his upscale office in the 2000 block of Farrington Street near Interstate 35E and Market Center Boulevard, according to testimony before state District Judge Mike Snipes. Corea was ordered out by Oct. 31.
When the president of the real estate company that represents the building, Doug Molny, showed up the next day to check on the property, he found “complete destruction,” including “penis graffiti on every single wall throughout the building,” Molny said.
Written next to some of the graffiti was the name Doug.
Molny said it appeared someone took a sledgehammer to granite counters. Doors, light fixtures, cabinets and appliances were destroyed or removed.
There were feces and urine on the floor, Molny said.
Prosecutor Jacob Harris presented photos of some of the damage, including a derogatory message directed at an out-of-state judge who found Corea in contempt of court in an unrelated case. The message included the judge’s name and a phone number for her with a 505 area code.
Corea, who did not testify, was wearing a dark suit and sitting next to attorney John Gussio. At one point while Molny was testifying, Snipes ordered Corea to “refrain from making faces at the witness.”
Gussio called Corea’s girlfriend, who is also a Corea employee, to testify. But her testimony was cut off after prosecutors said that they believe her to be an accomplice and that she ought to have an attorney with her.
Gussio argued that there was no direct evidence that Corea was the one who caused the damage to the property and that it was a civil matter.
“A lot of this is gobbly goo trash, this is a civil litigation,” Gussio said. “For you to hold his bond would basically in the eyes of the public find him guilty on all these other cases.”
Harris said that the vandalism was criminal mischief and that charges are likely to be brought against Corea once they get a formal estimate on the damages, which is thought to be in excess of $100,000, according to testimony.
“He destroyed that building,” Harris said in asking Snipes to find Corea’s bond insufficient.
“I doubt seriously there are any random vagrants in the Dallas area that are familiar with area code 505,” Snipes said in setting his new bond at $500,000.
The judge told Gussio he would be willing to reconsider the ruling when the attorney is better prepared. Corea was handcuffed and booked in to the Dallas County Jail, where he remained Wednesday evening.
The Dallas County district attorney’s office announced charges against Corea earlier this year in a written statement. It said he is “accused of stealing settlement funds from his clients’ trust accounts, using false information to secure financial loans, and stealing identities to apply for various loans and credit cards.”
The indictments followed a seven-month investigation by the district attorney’s office, the statement said.
Corea was disbarred last month after a State Bar of Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline proceeding in which he failed to appeared, according to public records.
According to the judgment, Corea violated numerous Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct in his handling of a wrongful death case and settlement.
He “engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation,” among other findings, the judgment said.
Corea has a pending motion for a new trial in that case. He has also filed for bankruptcy and is going through a divorce, according to records.
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