His license is "inactive"? Vuillemin knows that an attorney who engages in criminal acts, violates his attorney/client priviledge, and profits from his misdeeds should not have the ability to abscound to a diiferent jurisdiction to "practice law". Pignatelli may want to find another place to pratice after this article-I've read that the Justice Department is hiring-he may be a prime candidate to head their Ethics section.

They had to allow him to practice so that he could continue to be useful in the snitch operation. If he was disbarred, it would have been the end of that deal.

Now that it is out, though, Colorado should keep a close eye on this cokehead Mafia reject.

I'm not sure which is worse. Pignatelli or the current defense lawyer.

No matter, whatever it takes to get these drug dealer losers off'n our streets.

Gee, so much for attorney-client confidentiality...

Wow, now that's not something you read about, EVER...He was in the corner and had no choice in this matter. I do know that he's looking over his shoulder on a daily basis !! It's going to take some time, but he's gonna get his from those guys he took down. I don't want to walk in his shoes, that's for sure......

"Pignatelli's decision to turn on his clients and cooperate with law enforcement ''still leaves a bad taste in my mouth,'' Robinson's attorney, James Campbell, said Friday."

This is the same taste I get everytime a POS lawyer gets a guilty person out of jail.

sounds like pignatelli should be working in washington DC he would fit in with corrupt politicians. Hopefully he told the FBI about Corruption in Summit County!

$2.8 million in cash found at the drug house... WOW, that must be all the money in Crakron. How did they round it all up?

I guess criminal defense attorneys CAN make a difference!

Someone should find this piece of dirt and give hime what he deserves along permanent dirt napp.

LOL...this was a very informative article. I wonder why it was printed?

Well, if he was in a witness protection program---the ABJ blew that!! But not for the first time have they done something questionable. Why was the piece written?

The problem as I see it is not the fact that the drug dealing scum are off the streets. That's fine with me. The problem I see is the precident that this whole episode sets.

Constitutionally, a client is allowed discreet legal representation - from an attorney who's sole purpose is to represent that client.

You have to look at the bigger picture here - does this now set a precident that - regardless of the reason - the attorney/client confidentiality is now null and void?

We still have the right to bear arms ,but do we still know when to use them?

When you associate with and represent the scum of the earth, is it really a surprise when you become one of them?

The only issue he would have with atty-client confidentiality would be with some0one he is or has represented. If he turns in a bunch of drug dealers he knows it is not a problem.

Denver you say? Frontier Airlines has a flight there this afternoon out of Akron Canton Airport. PIGnatelli. Anybody like pork chops? How about a ham sandwich?

It just goes to show you may think that your pot or coke heads are you "FRIENDS" yet in a matter of who is going down the hardest, it sure isn't going to be them! It is going to be "YOU"!!! Bottom line you drug it you lose!! It's your choice!

racy says wow(@@)

You know that old joke about lawyers laying at the bottom of the lake? Maybe someone made that up for a reason. Shouldn't he be disbarred? How about the witness snitching program?

He should be disbarred--at least once they are done "using" him which it appears they are now. And how does he get a license to practice in Colorado? You must be kidding me.

The attorney-client privilege isn't absolute when the lawyer knows his client's going to commit a crime. Check Ohio's Rules of Professional Conduct, especially Rule 1.6: http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/Rules/ProfConduct/profConductRules.pdf

Now I know why some attorneys who steal stones for driveways still practice law in Ohio. This guy had large sums of money, caught red handed but at least he is out of Ohio.
Makes me wonder if another attorney who is practicing law in this state is co-operating with the FBI to turn evidence against a certain individual who is a former client of his so he can keep his law liscense from being revoked.

Ok, so they take "dirty drug money" off the streets so the police can spend & play with it. Ummm, so its against the law to make the money that way but- hey, as long as we got some money lets use it for our on use?? Sounds like a pimp and h@e situation to me..

Was he in Cahoots with 30 Drug dealers? Or did he just snitch them out because he represented them?

wow...I'm kind of like racy ... WOW. I must be old because what happened to the old days when the lawyers/prosecutors made deals? You remember..."I'll give you this one if you give me that one" type of thing. Makes you wonder when you speak to a lawyer about a situation, what that particular lawyers' real agenda is.

woooooow that is amazing so now the police can now have yo lawyer go undercover woooooooow

What comes around goes around.
ABJ snitched on the snitcher.

Are you people forgetting? What ever the reason he got 30 scumbag leeches off the street. I don't care what he had to do. You people need to get an idea of how big this operation was. They seized a couple million dollars from one search? I for one am glad that he had the guts to do what he did.

Lisa do you hear yourself? You sound like some ghetto breeder.

"...Are you people forgetting? What ever the reason he got 30 scumbag leeches off the street. I don't care what he had to do..."

so you're saying that the ends justifies the means?

That disregard for due process or constitutional guidelines should be thrown out?

You're setting a pretty dangerous precident there...

Donny I appreciate your opinion. But look at what the liberal courts and constitutional scholars have done to the neighborhoods.
This is war, it has to be fought as a war. It has to be won as a war. And if you have ever been in combat (I have), there are no rules.

Well, thomas, you need to re-read the article again;

"Federal prosecutors said they learned through another investigation that Pignatelli was helping his clients purchase ''stash houses'' in which to store drugs and money.

Based on the investigation, which included wire taps, agents searched Pignatelli's home and recovered large sums of cash, authorities said. He was not indicted, but instead began cooperating with federal drug investigators."

He was only protecting his own behind...period, and it is an outrage that he still is practicing law now.

They should have disbarred him, the only reason they didn't is to use him further, which again the article states..."Pignatelli's law license in Ohio is inactive. He works as an attorney in Denver, a private practice that includes defending alleged drug dealers in federal court."

Personally, I believe he should have been disbarred from practicing any/all kinds of law in every state.

It's the price he should pay for walking free and giving up his clients.

I'm not saying his clients weren't scum. I agree that they are. But I don't believe, as Thomas does, that you suspend the parameters of due process, nor do I believe that you should bypass Constitutional Law as a matter of convenience to get what you want.

The precidents you set for the future are very dangerous - and the price you end up paying on the other end is just too high to conveniently bypass these rights to fit a personal or momentary agenda.

IMHO of course.

This sorry A** I wont call him a man should be in jail,he misrepresented many people in court; he would tell you to call his office to set up a meeting and never show up he would never return acall he told you to make ASKED for his fee in cash.This took place in Dec.2005 I REPORTEDthis to the bar assocation they told me there was nothing that could be done,Icalled the Columbus bar and told them about it and also I had heard he was involed in the drug trade they said " he had a fine record and they did not to my kwowledge investigate my claim .whats the old joke about putting all the lawyers in the bottom of the ocean?

Book em Dano!!!!!!

Book Em Dano

WOW!!! I cannot believe what I have just read. Pignatelli should be disbarred. I definately agree that some of his clients left a lot to be desired but this is outrageous to say the least. The thing that sucks is that this Pig gets to pick up and continue his merry little life in a different state. Frank is just as much a criminal as his clients.

I wonder how much money, and man hours would have been saved, and how many lives would not be ruined if marijuana would be fully decriminalized? Take the obviously killer cocaine off the streets, and anyone associated with that drug should be in jail. However, if one of these defendents was just a guy driving pounds of weed around, I have a problem with our drug laws and the way the laws affect marijuana dealers/users insofar as how much time they serve as compared to rapists and murderers even.

Think about how much room and money would be saved in prisons and the court system if we decriminalized marijuana's non-violent offenses?

I just can't understand how we can live in a world where Phillip Morris can legally add small increments of nicotine each year to their cigarettes in order to keep their base addicted, and yet we can't see the logic in legalizing weed and taxing it to the government and states advantage. I'm just dumbfounded at the logic.

Think about how much money overall we'd save in law enforcement, prisons, crime off the streets, The benefits of tax money generated, of which there are many etc.

Sorry, I sort of went off on a tangent, as I've been thinking lately with some other people about some things we can do to boost the economy quickly, and this was one of the ideas we were shooting back and forth this weekend. :)

Typical a lawyer still gets to practice law after engaging in a pattern of criminal activity. The problem with the legal system is the abundance of greedy rich lawyers.

Postings from every aspect here - and, frankly, I can't understand how, with the spectre of his participation as an informant and witness, he can manage to practice criminal defense law in Colorado. I can't imagine a judge appointing him to a case, nor can I imagine a defendant retaining him; playing fast and loose with the Code of Professional Responsibility - not to mention issues of attorney-client confidentiality - in order to save your own @$$, is not a way to win clients or woo business. Frank's a nice guy, but I can't imagine he's going to last a whole lot longer in Colorado.

Ed:

In a way I have to agree. Cigs VS pot . Cigs kill, its proven, but I cant help but think back to some of the pot smoking friends back in the day. They are still around, no cancer, just a bit dingy. Hell, alcohol has a HUGE death rate when abused. You cant say that about pot. I also have seen pot work wonders for a person's nerves. Im not a pothead at all. Never liked it, but am from the 70's so I know the folks who did it & still do. It can calm the beast within if you know someone with anger issues. WoW I rambled alot! My point was really just that Pot is so minor compared to the crack & meth out there. The lawyer will get his-what goes around ALWAYS comes back around!

Wait a minute, all this was about... pot?

I see a lot of lawyers with nothing better to do with their time

yay!!!!

why do people have a problem with drug dealers getting busted, no matter how?

he's a good guy in my book.

Frank was far from a good guy. He only helped the Feds because he got caught red handed. He was only saving his own @$$.

"...yay!!!!

why do people have a problem with drug dealers getting busted, no matter how?..."

Because it's about due process. It's about the difference between our country and a country where you are guilty until proven innocent. Because without the constitutional order that makes this country great and sets us apart from every other country, we are ignoring the very foundational building blocks that this country was founded on.

C'mon, gang... Jeez.... you are missing the point here. You cannot honestly be so blind.

No one is arguing that drug dealers are good people. No one is defending their actions.

They are scum, to be sure.

But it's not whether it's coke or pot, whether it's crack or meth. It's about law enforcement and the judicial system doing things the RIGHT way instead of ignoring what our Founding Fathers had in mind.

And if you are willing to throw away that due process; if you are willing to forego everyone's constitutional rights, then we aren't living in the country our Founding Fathers intended us to live in.

What happened to attorney client privilege all of you who think Pignatelli did us a favor by getting another drug dealer off the streets need to step back and take a look at the whole picture he disgraced all of those who are lawyers by becoming a unethical snitch to save his own ***. Yes he was a drug dealer but if he was such a big threat there should have been other evidence.

ain't we tryin'

Campbell, he wasn't working as an attorney, so there is not client privilege.

forthepeople, i believe it said his law license is "inactive"....so, no, he's not practicing law. And even then, the body that distributes the license (usually the highest court) is the only one that can take it away...not the prosecuter.

If he broke the law he souldn't be able to cross state lines and resume his career. He needs to be disbarred. He should be in jail right nest to the people he was helping. This sure is a beneficial justice system. It seems to be fit for Mr. Charlie...

Lemme get this right,, a lawyer turns on his clients,, BOY,,WHAT A BIIIG SURPRISE!!

concerned, each state has you register for the bar in that state, it's not a national thing. You can be disbarred in FL, but if the OH bar admits you, you can still practice there. The process is pretty demanding - background checks, medical records, credit, etc - so I'm sure they knew about this.

Actually Snake it is a big surprise...Show me another case where an attorney actually testified against his former client??
save your time, you cant.

Lawcat quit defending this scum bag Pignatelli has been dirty for years he should be in prison as well.

I'll defend him all I want, thanks. I actually know what rules he has to go by and what client privilege really is as opposed to you.

Lawcat you don`t know what your talking about, who said anything about client privilege i said he has been dirty for years. can you read ?

I wasn't reponding to your comments initially (someone said client-privilege), nor was I defending him (please point out where). Can you comprehend?

"...I wasn't reponding to your comments initially (someone said client-privilege)..."

I mentioned it (as I believe a few others did as well)

I was under the impression that if you are an attorney and defending a client, that to do anything other than to serve the client's best interests as defense council is to act unethically.

If you are an attorney or law student, please clarify.

Pignatelli's law license in Ohio is inactive. He works as an attorney in Denver, a private practice that includes defending alleged drug dealers in federal court.
How the heck can this man " scum " allowed to do this?
This man " scum " is no better than the drug dealers he is defending.

Roll over Rover, what goes around comes back around.

So the dirty money's taken off the streets- the "criminal" gets sentenced and is given to APD Budget?? Why get in trouble when the police can get the benefits? Its soo amusing how the system works, isnt it...gotta love it.

Pignatelli is a coward....

wow/what a story to put in writeing how is a lawyer to do all that and not get the same charge as all of them /the system is great aint it but karma is a bad thing and it seems he might of did the wrong thing to the wrong people/so good luck //pignatelli god bless u son

Did the Colorado Bar receive FULL DISCLOSURE as the extent of his criminal activities on his application for a law license?

One would think the COBar would at least require full disclosure to his prospective clients.

From COBAR Rules on Professional Conduct:

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:

(a) violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another;

(b) commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects;

(c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation;

Ethics Opinions
60 DUTY WITH RESPECT TO CLIENT’S INCRIMINATING PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Adopted July 24, 1982.

Syllabus

A lawyer has an affirmative duty to surrender incriminating physical evidence in his possession. Upon surrender of the evidence, the lawyer must not reveal the identity of the client and confidential communications of the client. When a lawyer observes incriminating evidence as a result of his representation of the client and does not alter or disturb the evidence, he must not disclose these observations to authorities.


From CO Supreme Court :

Ethics and Discipline

When attorneys enter the practice of law, they take an oath to uphold the law and to follow the standards of ethics established by the Colorado Supreme Court. An attorney who violates the law and/or those standards is subject to discipline. In cases involving minor misconduct, an attorney may be admonished, censured, or placed in a diversion program. In serious matters, attorneys face suspension of their license to practice law or disbarment.

"(c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation;"
"60 DUTY WITH RESPECT TO CLIENT’S INCRIMINATING PHYSICAL EVIDENCE....."

So WTF is going on here????..the system, gotta love it.

Pignatelli, 45, who has moved out of state and resumed his criminal defense practice, has not been charged with any crime.

Where did you read his license is inactive, Lawcat?