In re Petition for Reinstatement Ditrapano

• Citation: 233 W.Va. 754,760 S.E.2d 568
• Decision Date: 18 June 2014
• Docket Number: No. 12–0677.,12–0677.
• Court: Supreme Court of West Virginia
• Parties: In re Petition for REINSTATEMENT OF L. Dante DiTRAPANO.

233 W.Va. 754

760 S.E.2d 568

In re Petition for REINSTATEMENT OF L. Dante DiTRAPANO.

No. 12–0677.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Submitted Jan. 28, 2014.

Decided June 18, 2014.

Syllabus by the Court

1. “This Court is the final arbiter of legal ethics problems and must make the ultimate decisions about public reprimands, suspensions or annulments of attorneys' licenses to practice law.” Syl. pt. 3, Committee on Legal Ethics v. Blair, 174 W.Va. 494, 327 S.E.2d 671 (1984).

2. “A de novo standard applies to a review of the adjudicatory record made before the Committee on Legal Ethics of the West Virginia State Bar as to questions of law, questions of application of the law to the facts, and questions of appropriate sanctions; this Court gives respectful consideration to the Committee's recommendations while ultimately exercising its own independent judgment. On the other hand, substantial deference is given to the Committee's findings of fact, unless such findings are not supported by reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record.” Syl. pt. 3, Committee on Legal Ethics v. McCorkle, 192 W.Va. 286, 452 S.E.2d 377 (1994).

3. “The general rule for reinstatement is that a disbarred attorney in order to regain admission to the practice of law bears the burden of showing that he presently possesses the integrity, moral character and legal competence to resume the practice of law. To overcome the adverse effect of the previous disbarment, he must demonstrate a record of rehabilitation. In addition, the court must conclude that such reinstatement will not have a justifiable and substantial adverse effect on the public confidence in the administration of justice and in this regard the seriousness of the conduct leading to disbarment is an important consideration.” Syl. pt. 1, In re Brown, 166 W.Va. 226, 273 S.E.2d 567 (1980).

4. “Detaining money collected in a professional or fiduciary capacity without bona fide claim coupled with acts of dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation justify annulment of an attorney's license to practice law.” Syl. pt. 5, Committee on Legal Ethics v. Pence, 161 W.Va. 240, 240 S.E.2d 668 (1977).

5. “This Court, like most courts, proceeds from the general rule that, absent compelling extenuating circumstances, misappropriation or conversion by a lawyer of funds entrusted to his/her care warrants disbarment.” Syl. pt. 5, in part, Office of Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel v. Jordan, 204 W.Va. 495, 513 S.E.2d 722 (1998).

6. “Rehabilitation is demonstrated by a course of conduct that enables the court to conclude there is little likelihood that after such rehabilitation is completed and the applicant is readmitted to the practice of law he will engage in unprofessional conduct.” Syl. pt. 2, In re Brown, 166 W.Va. 226, 273 S.E.2d 567 (1980).

Robert H. Davis, Jr., Esq., Harrisburg, PA, for Petitioner.

Rachael L. Fletcher Cipoletti, Esq., Joanne M. Vella Kirby, Esq., Office of DisciplinaryCounsel, Charleston, WV, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM.

This case is before the Court upon the June 1, 2012, petition of L. Dante DiTrapano for reinstatement of his license to practice law. The Hearing Panel Subcommittee (“HPS”) of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board (“LDB”) conducted a hearing on Mr. DiTrapano's petition on March 27, 2013, and April 17, 2013. Based upon the record developed through testimony and evidence presented during the hearing, the HPS created a report on October 17, 2013, containing its recommendation regarding Mr. DiTrapano's petition. In that report, the HPS recommended to this Court that Mr. DiTrapano's license be reinstated following the successful completion and termination of his federal sentence of supervised release, which is expected to occur on January 14, 2015, along with the following conditions: (1) that his legal practice be supervised by his employer or another supervisor and by the director of the West Virginia Lawyer Assistance Program (“WVLAP”) for two years following his reinstatement; (2) that prior to reinstatement, he be required to pay his dues to the West Virginia State Bar and complete all required CLEs; (3) that he be ordered to reimburse the LDB the costs of the reinstatement proceedings; (4) that he be ordered to continue his attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings three to four times per week; (5) that he remain a member of the WVLAP for a period of two years from the date of reinstatement and that he be available upon request to assist the Board of Directors in speaking to bar members who struggle with alcoholism and/or addiction; and (6) that he give random urine screens, at his expense, to the WVLAP for a period of two years from reinstatement.

We have thoroughly reviewed the record presented for consideration, the briefs, the legal authorities cited, and the arguments of Mr. DiTrapano and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (“ODC”). While Mr. DiTrapano has made commendable efforts to deal with his substance abuse problem, our review and consideration are not limited only to Mr. DiTrapano's abuse of intoxicating substances. Pursuant to our review of the entire record, we find that Mr. DiTrapano has not satisfied his burden of showing that he presently possesses the integrity and moral character to resume the practice of law. Therefore, we decline to reinstate Mr. DiTrapano's law license.

I.FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Federal Felony Convictions and Disbarment

The petitioner, L. Dante DiTrapano, is a native of Charleston, West Virginia. He began abusing illegal drugs as a teenager, which continued into his years as an undergraduate student. While in his early twenties, Mr. DiTrapano was arrested several times in connection with his possession of illegal drugs and for driving under the influence. He eventually sought in-patient treatment for addiction in 1988, citing February 22, 1989, as the date on which he became clean and sober.

Mr. DiTrapano avers that he did not engage in any form of substance abuse for approximately fifteen years thereafter. During that time, he completed his undergraduate studies and obtained a law degree from John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating summa cum laude. Subsequently, he was admitted to the bar in both West Virginia and Georgia. Mr. DiTrapano returned home to Charleston, West Virginia, and went to work at his father's law firm, DiTrapano, Barrett & DiPiero. While working at the firm, Mr. DiTrapano avers that he did not regularly attend twelve-step meetings ¹ or remain focused on his sobriety becausehe became overconfident with his sobriety and was frequently traveling for work.

In 2004, Mr. DiTrapano developed a cough with chest pain and wheezing. A doctor prescribed to him a cough syrup containing hydrocodone. Mr. DiTrapano said he did not inform the doctor of his history of substance abuse and that he knew he should not have taken the medicine. He quickly became addicted to the cough syrup and abused it for the next year. He then began acquiring and abusing oxycodone. Mr. DiTrapano progressed on to smoking crack cocaine, stating that his drug use “spun out of control” after a six-year-old child, a friend of one of his children, accidently drowned in the DiTrapano family swimming pool.

In early 2006, Mr. DiTrapano's family encouraged him to enter a drug rehabilitation program. He traveled to Florida for treatment, but before he began treatment he engaged in additional drug use, leading to his arrest in Florida on March 14, 2006, for possession of cocaine. On April 6, 2006, a federal search warrant was executed on his home in Charleston, West Virginia. Among the items seized were several loaded firearms, ammunition, and crack cocaine. Mr. DiTrapano was arrested again on April 24, 2006, in Georgia and charged with driving on a suspended license and possession of cocaine. He was arrested again on June 11, 2006, in South Charleston, West Virginia, for driving on a suspended license, having no insurance, having an expired registration, and having an expired inspection sticker.

On June 14, 2006, Mr. DiTrapano was indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on two separate felony counts. Count One charged him with knowingly possessing various firearms in and affecting interstate commerce while being an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) (2005) and 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2) (2005). Count Two charged him with knowingly making a false statement and representation to a licensed dealer of firearms regarding his dependence on a controlled substance in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A). Mr. DiTrapano was arrested in Charleston, West Virginia, on June 15, 2006, pursuant to a federal arrest warrant.

On June 26, 2006, pursuant to Rule 3.27 of the West Virginia Rules of Lawyer Disciplinary Procedure,² the ODC filed a petition seeking the immediate temporary suspension of Mr. DiTrapano's law license. That same day, he pleaded guilty to Count One of the federal indictment,³ after which he was released on bond and ordered to report to the Prestera Center (PARCWEST) in Huntington, West Virginia, to complete a twenty-eight day in-house substance abuse treatment program. Thereafter, he was released on conditional home confinement pending sentencing.

Mr. DiTrapano returned to federal court again on August 29, 2006, upon his arrest for violation of his bond as set forth in the United States Probation Office's Petition for Action on Conditions of Pretrial Release. The petition alleged various violations of the conditions of his home confinement. On September 8, 2006, the federal court revoked the petitioner's pre-sentencing release and bond, remanding the petitioner to the custody of the United States Marshal. That day the ODC filed a supplement to its petition seeking immediate temporary suspension of Mr. DiTrapano's law license to this Court. The ODC's...