I've written about a lot of controversial issues since I began this blog almost two years ago. Not everyone has been happy with what I write about, but even my critics seem to agree that I have the facts before I write about something.
This afternoon I received a phone call from someone identifying himself as Joseph Moniz. Between the yelling and the difficulty understanding his somewhat "slurred" speech, I was able to understand that he was threatening to sue me and he wanted yesterdays posting removed immediately. He asked for my e-mail address so he could send his demands for a retraction and his threat to sue me.
I actually had to repeat my e-mail address several times for him to understand it and he actually called me back several minutes later asking "What's that e-mail address again ?". At first I thought the call was a joke since the caller seemed to , ummm, how shall I politely say this, seemed "impaired".
Well, some time later I received the attached e-mail:
From: attorney.joe.moniz@gmail.com
To: krbrookman@earthlink.net
Subject:
Date: Nov 10, 2010 3:09 PM
I'm demanding that you retract immediately and publicly what you "blogged" about me which is false. And, when and if you do, give an explanation and apology because I have gotten calls from people who care about me who were shocked. Also, look at the underlying order of garnishment - you claim to be "We the People"?
Do your homework. How can a judge in the USA enter a pretrial order without notice to me that says I can't buy food, buy life saving medication, pay my rent or visit my daughters for the holidays?
You cavalierly blog about me without doing your homework. You don't know me or what I have done, so don't slander or lible me without doing your homework. The problem with the way we share information now is that it's mostly though the internet and there are no rules. So, you send this false message about me, and how do I respond? I have no but to sue you, which is expensive, but to do nothing is more expensive.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
I tried to ask the caller claiming to be Moniz what was wrong or inaccurate on the blog. He wouldn't respond and just kept saying he wanted it off the blog or else he was suing me.
I tried to explain to Moniz that the truth backed up by facts and documents are neither libelous nor slanderous, they are facts.
I'm not sure if he felt that I would back down under the threat of a lawsuit, but obviously he must not be a regular reader of the blog. As long as the facts back it up, no subject is off limits here, including that of a disgraced former attorney receiving improper payments in defiance of a lawful court order.
If Mr. Moniz does not agree with the garnishment and the trustee order, that's his problem to argue before a Judge, not mine to turn away from and ignore. In the end it will be the people of Hartford that will once again suffer for others incompetence and potentially illegal and fraudulent acts.
Mr. Moniz, who at one time was one of the areas prominent attorneys, has obviously for whatever reason, reached a bump in the road of life and has issues to address. The revocation and suspension of his license to practice law is not my fault, it is a fact. His license to practice law in Connecticut, according to the Statewide Bar Grievance Committee was suspended "indefinitely" on February 19, 2010.
Complaint after complaint, some of them detailed below, accused Moniz of improper and unethical behavior in his practice of law. In most other private sector businesses, actions similar to Moniz's would quite possibly result in criminal charges. This time the victims of Moniz's actions are the people of Hartford who have handed over $65,000 to Joseph Moniz in apparent violation of a Judge's order.
In addition, as you see on the e-mail, Moniz represented himself as "Attorney Joe Moniz". According to the Grievance Committee that is also illegal for Moniz to represent himself as an attorney because as they stated to me, he is not an attorney in good standing in the State of Connecticut. That would require a valid license, which Moniz's was revoked.
And Mr. Moniz, I do not dispute that you may have received calls from "people that care" about you. If they really care, they may try to help identify what has caused you to go from a promising attorney to what is the current Joseph Moniz. Don't kill the messenger, the facts are the facts. Anyone who was "shocked" by yesterday's posting only needs to read the complaints below to realize that there must be some severe underlying issues and I hope they offer you support to address those issues.
And to the commenters who are ready to make their negative remarks, don't bother. This is one posting where I will make sure I remove any nasty remarks kicking someone when he is obviously down.
Here are a sampling of the complaints filed against Moniz over the last few years:
MONIZ 08-0344
MONIZ 09-0673
MONIZ 09-1073
MONIZ 061118
MONIZ 070424
MONIZ 070989
MONIZ 071184
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8 comments:
Kevin..you could file a grievance against him for impersonating a lawyer.BTW his email to you has mis-spellings and mis pronunciations.If his speech was as slurred as you say...he might still be hitting the bottle.
Someone please send Moniz a bottle of listerine
This time the victims of Moniz's actions are the people of Hartford who have handed over $65,000 to Joseph Moniz in apparent violation of a Judge's order.
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It would appear to me that Hartford is not at all victimized. It is apparently obligated to pay him as part of the $260,000 in legal fees (?) to Shulman/Moniz. The question is only whether the interests of the dead kid's ambulance-chasing family are protected or if Moniz gets to pay for his new septic system, etc.
Query, though, as to what the citizens of Hartford got in exchange for the quarter million bucks.
Peter...the outlay of 250k should be balanced against what the citizens got...ask Carbone who heads the Cintron group what we got for all that money.You may find or think that it is really just a cash cow for his lawyer friends or perhaps something substantive was done...
Peter...i disagree with your pejoritive term "ambulance chaser" in this legal malpractice suit...take a look at the facts and I think you will agree that the suit might be warranted.While you might not hire a lawyer if the same happened to you, doesnt mean that someone else shouldnt.
"ambulance chaser"
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Bruce:
Admit gratuitous insensitivity. Plaintiff attorneys aren't all bad all the time. I used one back in 1984 when I ran my bike into the back of an ice cream truck in Providence. (And, I'm still considering a "wrongful birth" action against my mom if I can get someone to take it on a contingency fee basis.)
Point remains; Borges alleged contempt of court not damaging to Hartford (unless we end up paying a fine. The failure to pay Moniz trustee only makes Moniz's pockets shallower if and when the dead kid's family prevails against him in their legal malpractice suit stemming from his alleged mis-handling of their action against the Norwich hospital(?).
Honestly, what the heck was the quarter of a million for? Moniz was not the city lawyer, but was suing us, doing some sort of self-aggrandizing anti-cop social justice.
Corp council is one giant cash cow. That's the primary reason they appeal everything to the bitter end even if it makes no sense monetarily. They farm the work out to friends who own law firms. When some corp council members leave the city or get fired, like John Rose did, they go set themselves up on the receiving end of this "arrangement".
I wouldn't be surprised if members on Corp Council were even getting kick backs.
Is Joe Moniz the brother of Rhonda Moniz Carroll?
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