Disciplinary actions.

The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 17 attorneys, disbarring two, suspending 10, placing three on probation, reprimanding four, and granting one inactive status. Restitution was ordered in three cases. Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline.

The following lawyers are disciplined:

Joseph G. Abromovitz, 858 Washington St., 3rd Floor, Dedham Mass., to receive a public reprimand by publication in the Southern Reporter pursuant to an August 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1974) Abromovitz was unaware that a Massachusetts' client's funds from a $20,000 settlement had been erroneously posted to another client's account and informed the client that no payment was due. Before a Massachusetts Bar investigation, Abromovitz discovered the error and remitted the funds owed plus interest. He was reprimanded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court. (Case No. SC07-1590)

Robert Brian Baker, 6991 N. State Road 7, 2nd Floor, Parkland, to receive a public reprimand to be administered by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar pursuant to an August 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1993) Baker represented a client in a personal injury case. During the course of that representation, a nonlawyer employee under his supervision issued a letter of protection ensuring a medical provider that his bill would be paid out of the settlement. When the distribution of funds occurred, the medical provider was not paid. Baker continued to refuse to honor the letter of protection. After the Bar complaint was filed, Baker paid the bill, but required the medical provider to sign a release agreeing to drop the Bar complaint in violation of a Bar rule. (Case No. SC06-2028)

Michael Lester Berry, Jr., 258 Magnolia St., Atlantic Beach, ordered suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from an August 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1994) Berry was hired by an architect to foreclose a mechanic's lien against a stereo store. The client told Berry that he did not want the case tried before a jury. When a substitute counsel for the subject of the lien filed an amended motion for trial by jury, Berry failed to respond and the case was scheduled for a jury trial. When the Bar notified Berry that he was the subject of a complaint by his client, he failed to respond to the complaint or to participate in the formal grievance proceedings. (Case No. SC06-2421)

Nathaniel Joe Birdsong III, 9050 Pines Blvd., Suite 300, Pembroke Pines, suspended for one year, effective 30 days from an August 30 court order and ordered to pay restitution to two clients. (Admitted to practice: 1999) Birdsong failed to respond to repeated requests for information on the status of a case. Although he responded to the subsequent Bar inquiry and offered a full refund to the client, he failed to respond to follow-up communication from Bar counsel. In another case involving failure to communicate with a client, Birdsong failed to respond to the Bar complaint or to appear for the grievance committee hearing. Most recently, Birdsong, who was ineligible to practice because he was delinquent in paying his Florida Bar fees, signed a letter as "Esq." in the course of representing clients. (Case No. SC07-293)

Mark Irwin Blumstein, 4581 Weston Road, No. 203, Weston, disbarred, effective immediately, pursuant to an August 30 court order, and ordered to pay $26,000 restitution to a husband and wife he represented in a civil case. (Admitted to practice: 1986) Blumstein arbitrarily and without the clients' consent attempted to charge a contingency fee in lieu of the contracted hourly rate. After the first payment in a settlement was received by Blumstein, he told the clients that he had received no settlement funds on their behalf. The clients then successfully filed a civil action against Blumstein. A subsequent audit of his trust accounts determined that for a period of three years he consistently did not have sufficient funds to satisfy all of his trust fund account obligations and that the shortages were caused by his misappropriation and conversion of trust funds to his own purpose or purposes other than those for which they were intended. (Case No. SC06-2181)

Elizabeth Aileen Broome, 1004 E. Jackson St., Pensacola, suspended for 18 months, effective immediately, pursuant to an August 30 court order, and ordered to pay $2,500 restitution to a client's mother, who paid the attorney's fees in a case in which Broome failed to file a motion for post-conviction relief. Upon reinstatement, Broome will be on probation for three years. (Admitted to practice: 1988) In another case, Broome failed to timely file a post-conviction relief motion on behalf of a client and failed to provide the Bar with documentation supporting her claim that the $10,000 fee she collected from the client's grandmother was justified. (Case No. SC06-2163)

Juan Carlos Gautier, P.O. Box 100, Ocoee, suspended for one year, effective 30 days from an August 30 court order (later amended to be effective September 11). (Admitted to practice: 1997) Gautier engaged in conduct whereby he did not diligently handle numerous client matters involving civil cases and claims before the Social Security Administration. He failed to maintain adequate communications with clients and did not respond to their repeated requests for information. He also failed to timely respond to the Bar's investigative inquiries. Gautier also failed to provide diligent representation and failed to prosecute appeals in cases pending before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. He was held in contempt of court on numerous occasions and caused the dismissal of appellate matters for several clients. He subsequently was suspended from the Bar of the U.S. District Court through its grievance process. (Case No. SC07-5)

Joseph Wimbert Gibson, Jr., 19 W. Flagler St., Suite 620, Miami, to receive a public reprimand to be administered by the Board of Governors and placed on probation for six months, effective immediately, pursuant to an August 30 court order. During the probationary period, Gibson is required to complete 15 hours of practice and professionalism enhancement programs. (Admitted to practice: 1982) Gibson failed to adequately analyze a client's case and confer with her prior to filing the complaint and did not adequately respond to a motion for summary judgment. After he withdrew as counsel for his client, citing irreconcilable differences, the client failed to obtain a new counsel and the court granted the opposing party's motion for summary judgment. In another case, Gibson began arguing during a sidebar with the judge and refused to return to his seat. Although he was given the opportunity to avoid the finding of criminal contempt by completing continuing legal education requirements, Gibson failed to complete them and was held in criminal contempt. (Case Nos. SC06-526 and SC06-2407)

Jonathan Russell Kaplan, 515 N. Flagler Drive, Suite 801, West Palm Beach, suspended for six months, effective 30 days from an August 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) Facing the possibility of federal charges focusing on his representation of a client and his adult night clubs, Kaplan voluntarily reported to the Bar that he had altered that client's trust ledger. He had been required to produce the ledger in post-judgment proceedings to locate assets that could be levied to pay an $87,000 judgment against the client. (Case No. SC07-391)

Donald Linus McBath, Jr., 15310 Amberly Drive., Suite 250, Tampa, suspended for 21 days, effective 30 days from an August 30 court order (later amended to be effective September 10). (Admitted to practice: 1993) In representing a client in a dissolution of marriage, McBath filed a petition for adjudication of dependency accompanied by a Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act affidavit. Both contained false information. McBath said the petition was prepared by an associate at his direction and that he did not review it before it was filed. It was ultimately determined that the petition for dependency was a frivolous filing and an inappropriate attempt to forum shop in light of a pending motion filed in the case. Additionally McBath was found to have assisted the client in conduct he reasonably should have known was criminal or fraudulent and he knowingly made false statements of material fact to a tribunal. (Case No. SC06-1440)

Gabriel I. Martin, 670 N.E. 114th St., Biscayne Park, suspended for three years retroactively to October 16, 2006, pursuant to an August 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1999) Martin, who was inexperienced in the practice of real estate law, went into business with a suspended Florida attorney who claimed extensive experience in that area. He applied to a title company for authority to write title policies and from April 2005 until August 2006, Martin acted as a de facto title company and created an account in his P.A. to handle title and real estate transactions. Martin relied wholly on the suspended attorney in conducting transactions, and to keep books and complete HUD statements. He also relied on this attorney to keep track of the deposit and disbursement of title company operating account funds and the P.A. trust account. In April 2006, the Bar received information from the FBI indicating that the suspended attorney was involved in fraudulent real estate transactions. The Bar served a subpoena on Martin, his employer at the time. While a polygraph examination confirmed that Martin was unaware of the suspended attorney's fraudulent activities, he nonetheless signed checks totaling more than $2 million. Because of Martin's negligence, the suspended attorney was able to conduct 12 additional closings between May 24, 2006, and July 14, 2006, which netted about $8.86 million from lenders into Martin's trust accounts. (Case No. SC06-2418)

Joseph F. Martinez, 201 E. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 760, Tampa, to receive a public reprimand to be administered by the Board of Governors pursuant to an August 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2001) Martinez filed a motion on behalf of a client serving a sentence of life imprisonment that the trial court dismissed because the allegations were not facially sufficient and the memorandum of law did not have a properly sworn oath. Martinez failed to inform his client that the motion had been dismissed. Had his client's wife not discovered the dismissal, the time for filing the appeal would have expired without the client's knowing it. He also allowed the client file to be destroyed by rain when it was left unprotected in a truck bed. (Case No. SC07-1200)

A. Edward Overton, P.O. Box 1247, Tarpon Springs, suspended for 10 days effective 30 days from an August 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1986) Overton pled no contest to allegations that he made inappropriate advances to a client he was representing in a dissolution of marriage case. (Case No. SC06-2082)

Imani Shele, 5950 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Suite 205-B, Lauderhill, suspended for one year, effective 30 days from an August 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2000) Shele accepted more than $1,600 from a client she was retained to represent in a dissolution of marriage case. When a fourth payment was returned to the client as undeliverable, she attempted to reach Shele, who had not filed any documents in the case. The client retained new counsel and filed a Bar complaint. Shele failed to respond to the complaint and did not appear at any related proceedings. (Case No. SC06-2460)

Andre Christian Shiromani, 1131 County Route 54, Lawrenceville, N.Y., placed on inactive status not related to misconduct for a mental health disorder, 30 days after an August 30 order. (Admitted to practice: 2005) The court granted a joint petition filed by Shiromani and the Bar. (Case No. SC07-1452)

Rodney Sheldon Toth, 3220 Prosperity Church Road, Suite 201, Charlotte, N.C., suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from an August 30 court order. Upon reinstatement, Toth will be placed on probation for two years. (Admitted to practice: 1979) Toth represented clients in matters relating to real estate closings and personal injury claims. Beginning in January 1998, he failed to promptly disburse funds received on behalf of clients and failed to maintain the minimum required records under the North Carolina Bar rules of professional conduct. (Case No. SC06-982)

Alan Benes Vlcek, 515 E. 9th St., No. 2, Jacksonville, disbarred retroactive to February 23, pursuant to an August 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1976) Vlcek served as personal representative for an estate. As part of the litigation over a son's claim that Vlcek misused estate funds and paid undocumented claims, he was ordered to appear at a deposition and to produce documents requested by the son's legal counsel. In all, Vlcek misappropriated more than $75,000 from the estate. (Case No. SC07-543)

Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline.