Officials Protest 'Secret' Plan to Close LICH - Brooklyn Daily Eagle

PAGE 24 July 19, 2013
Suspension for Lawyer Who
Created Fake Online Profile
By Charisma L. Miller, Esq.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The suspension of a Staten Island attorney
who went on a lesbian dating website posing as
a woman he once knew has been issued by the
Appellate Division, 2nd Department.
James O’Hare went on an online dating site
for lesbians and created a false profile impersonating
a woman he had previously known.
According to court documents, he used both his
home and work computers for this activity,
aware that the fake profile would likely cause
embarrassment to the woman, who was a mother
of three.
O’Hare did not deny his creation of the false
profile, but asserted that his actions did not violate
the Rules of Professional Conduct and thus
didn’t rise to the level warranting suspension.
O’Hare was arrested in 2011 and pleaded guilty
to aggravated harassment, a criminal misdemeanor,
stemming from the fake web profile.
He received a one-year discharge, and an order
of protection was issued against him. O’Hare
has since asked the Appellate Division that his
discharge be lifted.
Though he had already been suspended
from practicing law for over a year, in its July
17 unsigned opinion a panel of Appellate
Division, 2nd Department judges ordered a
one-year suspension for O’Hare, noting that his
“conduct was highly inappropriate and
adversely reflects on the legal profession.”
In his defense, O’Hare asserted that while
his actions were “inexcusable,” the woman was
not one of his clients and suffered no bodily or
financial harm from his
actions.
O’Hare also noted that
he suffers from a disorder
that prevents him from
appropriately adjusting to
environments or situations.
The panel found the arguments
unpersuasive.
Given the fact that
O’Hare has already served a
year of discharge from the
practice of law, the panel
allowed O’Hare to take time
served and apply for reinstatement
immediately — so
long as he can prove that he
refrained from practicing or
attempting to practice law,
maintained his continuing
legal education credits and
otherwise conducted himself
properly.
Brooklyn Owner of Sportswear Distribution
Business Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion
From U.S. Department of Justice
The Justice Department and Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) announced today that
Harry Neuhoff, a resident of Brooklyn, has
pleaded guilty to tax evasion.
According to documents filed with the
court, Neuhoff was president and owner of Eva
Tees Inc., formerly of Queens and currently
located in Piscataway, N.J. From approximately
2006 to 2008, Neuhoff manipulated Eva Tees
accounts through an accounting software program
to delete cash sales from the general
ledger accounts maintained on the computer
accounting system.
As a result, Neuhoff filed false corporate tax
returns on behalf of Eva Tees with the IRS that
underreported the gross receipts of the firm.
By Charisma L. Miller, Esq.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
A married Florida couple was arrested in
Long Island Wednesday and appeared in
Brooklyn Federal Court on Thursday on money
laundering and prostitution charges.
Vincent and Mellissa Lombardo, Florida
residents, are the owners of aphroditecompan
ions.com, a website that was allegedly used for
prostitution purposes. According the federal
complaint against the Lombardos, the website
included links to web pages depicting photos of
prostitutes partially clothed or naked and in sexually
explicit poses.
The site also displayed the schedule for each
prostitute and the city in which she was available;
many of the girls traveled across state lines to be
more available for hire. In exchange for the
advertising and related services, it is alleged that
the prostitutes paid the Lombardos 30-40 percent
of their fee, which was often hundreds of dollars.
It is also alleged that the Lombardos were
connected to a website, theeroticreview.com,
where “johns” can rate their experience with various
prostitutes. The federal investigation
revealed that Aphroditecompanions.com often
THE APPELLATE COURTHOUSE, 2ND DEPARTMENT, ON MONROE PLACE,
Brooklyn Heights.
Eagle photo by Don Evans
B’KLYN FEDERAL JUDGE EDWARD KORMAN,
the trial judge in the case.
File photo
offered discounts to customers that posted
reviews on the rating website after a date with
one of the Aphrodite companions.
The complaint outlines a number of email
exchanges purportedly between Mellissa
Lombardo and various escorts. The emails
detail some of the sexual services the escorts
were required to perform, the screening process
Neuhoff’s conduct also correspondingly resulted
in his filing of false personal income tax
returns with the IRS for those years.
According to the documents filed with the
court, Neuhoff underreported the gross receipts
of Eva Tees through computer manipulations
by at least $1.5 million. Sentencing is scheduled
for Nov. 8 before U.S. District Court
Judge Edward Korman.
Neuhoff faces a maximum sentence of five
years in prison, three years of supervised release, a
$250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment. He
has agreed to pay restitution to the IRS.
The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal
Investigation. Trial Attorneys Mark Kotila and
Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax
Division prosecuted this case.
Couple to Appear in Brooklyn Federal Court
On Charges of Facilitating Prostitution Ring
for escorts, and the schedule and rates for some
escorts.
One email in particular was an ad sent out to
many of the Aphrodite Companion escorts seeking
“TWO LADIES FOR MULTI DAY TRIPS
WITH CLIENTS. ONE TRIP REQUIRES A
PASSPORT.” The trip requiring a passport was
with a London businessman seeking a companion
for a weeklong trip to
South Africa at a rate of
$3,000 a day.
A duty magistrate
presided over the appearance
of the Lombardos on
the charges of money laundering
related to running a
prostitution service.
THE “APHRODITE COMPANIONS”
homepage. Vincent and Mellissa
Lombardo, the owners of
the site, are being charged in
Brooklyn Federal Court with
money laundering and prostitution.
aphroditecompanions.com
Supreme Court
Calendar
Kings Co. Criminal Term
320 Jay St., Brooklyn
Hon. Dowling
jury selection, murder
∆Douglas Barnes
Hon. Sullivan
deliberations, attempted murder
∆Oksama Chalkoviciene
Hon. Ozzi
jury selection, criminal sale of a controlled
substance
∆Sulaiman Chisholm
Hon. Tomei
people’s case, robbery
∆Ediberto Santana
Hon. Firetog
people’s case, murder
∆Leroy Webster
Hon. DelGiudice
jury selection, rape
∆Troy Wright
ASK THE DA
Attend National Night Out
Against Crime on August 6
By Kings County District Attorney
Charles J. Hynes
I want to encourage residents of
Brooklyn to attend this year's 30th Annual
National Night Out Against Crime on
Aug. 6 in their local community. Local
police precincts generally host a National
Night Out Against Crime which representatives
from my office attend in order to
provide information about my office's
programs and services. This national
event is designed to heighten crime and
drug prevention awareness, generate support
for local anti-crime programs,
strengthen neighborhood camaraderie and
police-community partnerships and let the
criminal element know that their neighborhood
is organized and fighting back.
While traditionally “lights on” and
front porch gathering remain the cornerstones
of National Night Out, some communities
plan block parties, cookouts,
contests and youth programs. Since 1984
the objective of this event has been to
heighten awareness and strengthen participation
in local anti-crime efforts. In that
first year, 400 communities in 23 states
participated. Recent participation is
reported to have grown to 37 million people
from all 50 states, U.S. territories,
Canadian cities and military bases worldwide.
Over the years, the National Night Out
has proven to be a positive, inexpensive
and enjoyable gathering that effectively
promotes our common objective of creating
safer communities in our nation. This
is an event to celebrate safety and crime
prevention successes and to expand and
strengthen these successes for the next
year. I hope to see you August 6.
For further information please contact
the D.A.'s Neighborhood Office nearest
you at (718) 250-2555, or my Community
Relations Bureau at (718) 250-2805.
_______________________________
To have your questions answered in
future columns send your inquiries to askthe
da@brooklynda.org. You can also contact
my Citizen’s Action Center at (718) 250-
2340, as well as my Neighborhood Offices
located throughout the county, which can
provide assistance and appropriate referrals
if you suspect fraud. The hotline for my
neighborhood offices is (718) 250-2555.
24 24 • Brooklyn Daily Daily Eagle, Eagle Friday, • Friday, July July 19, 2013 19, 2013