They're Baaaaack, Part 2

Friday night we treated my visiting mother-in-law to dinner at the Cafe Capri, a local long-time Italian restaurant recently moved to a brand new, sophisticated location. The food is outstanding, and it has turned into a local see and be seen hangout. We pointed out to my mother-in-law some of the notable people in the place. We also commented on some of the no goodniks that often frequent many of the local dining establishments.

She looked out the window and pointed to two men walking in the parking lot and said, "There are a couple of shady looking characters right there". We all looked out, and there in all of his tanned, Palm Beach halfway house glory, was Mickey Monus. As he walked into the restaurant and then into the bar, the minions flocked around him as if he was the Messiah himself.

I have observed the slow but steady return of these celebrity thugs to the area. There is an Italian phrase for people like this. Roughly translated it means "They put on the face". Not only are they returning here after their unfortunate incarcerations, they are attempting to re-establish themselves in local society.

Here are just a few of the bad guys. Richard Goldberg was one of the top malpractice lawyers in Ohio. He had a car collection worth several million dollars and wore a full length fur coat. He always got top dollar verdicts and settlements in any malpractice action he filed. But he had one fault. He preferred to keep the settlement money rather than to give it to his clients. So he traded in his fur coat for an orange jump suit. He did major time in Federal prison and an extended stay in the county jail. He's back on the scene, walking around the local hangouts. He claims to be working as a "consultant", telling people he is making more money now than ever before. Pity the poor clients who were the subject of his bankruptcy.

And then there is former Municipal Judge Pat Kerrigan. He was among the most crooked judges in the area, but he did it with charm. They had to literally pull him off the bench before they sent him off to jail. I think his excuse was substance abuse and depression. He is now back in town, and managed to wrangle himself another public payroll job. Ostensibly it is a job that will last for only 90 days, but we all know it will morph into a permanent job. When the Board that hired him was criticized, Kerrigan pulled out a Catholic priest to lecture the community on the virtues of forgiveness. That is all well and good. I forgive him. I always liked him, but not on the public payroll.

Former county prosecutor James Philomena gave new meaning to "selling justice". He represented several mafia types prior to being elected county prosecutor. Old habits die hard. After his stints in the state and federal prison systems, he returned to the area and landed himself a guest spot on a local radio talk show. I suppose I should be grateful for his 3 hour mea culpa.

There has been some public consternation to the return not only of these guys, but many others. But not nearly enough. There were more letters to the editor supporting Patrick Kerrigan's new public position than opposing it. I have always contended that if the numerous disbarred lawyers were to re-open their practices, the public would run to their door. At the end of the day, they don't want honesty, they want results.

Doesn't the public realize the severity of damage these people did to not only the legal system, but the entire public culture? It was rotten to the core and destroyed the heart and soul of this community. Under no circumstances should these folks be allowed to creep back into our lives. At the moment, Mahoning County is blessed with one of the best judicial benches we have had in 30 years. Our other public officials, while maybe not all that we would hope for, are hard working and conscientious. We cannot allow the cancer to re-establish itself. It has taken us over 6 years to get to the point we are now. We cannot go through it again.