Home
Newsletter
About Us
Coins For Sale
Selling Your Coins
Rare Coin Archives
Coin Collecting
Investing in Coins
Coin Information
Coin Articles
/World Coins
Books, Loupes etc.
Link to Us
Links
Contact Us
   
  Search 
  Sign up for our free NewsLetter
  e-mail: 
  Sign Up 
 


 

 

 

 




Springs lawyer facing hearing on license suspension
DEBBIE KELLEY - The Gazette - September 23, 2009 5:23 PM

A hearing to determine whether Colorado Springs attorney Christopher Cipoletti should be suspended from practicing law will be held Monday in Denver before a disciplinary judge whose office is affiliated with the Colorado Supreme Court.

The development is the latest in a string of legal actions that have been ongoing since October 2007, when Cipoletti was fired as executive director of the American Numismatic Association, based in Colorado Springs..

The Economic Crimes Division of the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office opened a criminal investigation into Cipoletti several months ago, after the ANA added accusations of theft to a civil lawsuit that names him as a third-party defendant regarding more than $400,000 in unpaid bills owed to a Denver law firm.

After nearly five years of heading the organization for coin collectors and nine years of serving as its general legal counsel, Cipoletti was terminated two years ago for reasons that were not publicly disclosed.

Cipoletti claimed his employment contract, which was to have expired at the end of 2008, was breached without cause and sought nearly $214,000 in accrued wages and benefits through arbitration.

A 15-page report the arbitrator issued in May ruled in favor of the ANA, saying Cipoletti not only was not entitled to further compensation but also intentionally stole more than $9,000 from the organization during his employment and breached his fiduciary obligations and duties of loyalty.

The arbitrator cites instances of Cipoletti double-billing private legal clients and the ANA for expenses on trips he took for speaking engagements. The arbitrator also found that Cipoletti was getting paid by the association while doing work for clients of his private legal practice.

On Sept. 15, District Court Judge Thomas Kane ordered Cipoletti to pay $53,550 in arbitration costs but denied the association’s request for Cipoletti to pay attorney fees. Cipoletti filed an appeal two days later.

In an affidavit on the suspension of his law license, Cipoletti said he voluntarily stopped practicing law in August, after receiving a copy of the complaint the ANA filed with the state’s Office of Regulation Counsel.

Cipoletti also said in his affidavit that he repaid the money he had charged on the association’s credit card. But the state’s attorney said in court documents that because the repayment took place after the ANA learned of the missing money, it “amounts to an admission that the respondent did, in fact, take funds that did not belong to him.”

If Cipoletti’s license is suspended, he will face further disciplinary action, said Rob McCallum, spokesman for the State Court Administrator’s Office.

The district attorney’s office is still investigating whether to file criminal charges, according to senior deputy district attorney Robyn Cafasso.


Springs lawyer facing hearing on license suspension

US Rare Coin Investments © 2003 - 2017 U.S. Rare Coin Investments
TERMS  |  LEGAL  |  SITE MAP
 

Have a friend who might be interested?
Inform them about us now!
Your E-mail: Your Name: Friend's E-mail: Friend's Name:
Send to a Friend