by peter e. bortner
Although she will not spend any time in prison for what prosecutors said was her billing Schuylkill County for conferences she did not hold as custody conciliator, Pottsville lawyer Lynne G. Bressi could lose her ability to practice her profession.
"The only issue is what the appropriate punishment will be," Paul Killion, chief counsel for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, said Thursday of the effect of Bressi's plea to, and sentencing on, seven charges stemming from the incident.
Those penalties range from an informal admonition to disbarment, which would mean Bressi could not be a lawyer in Pennsylvania for at least five years.
Any penalty would add an additional sanction to Wednesday's sentence by Monroe County Senior Judge Jerome P. Cheslock, who placed Bressi on state-supervised probation for a maximum 12 months and also sentenced her to perform 100 hours community service and pay costs, $2,000 in fines and $5,200 restitution to Schuylkill County. Bressi can be let off probation once she pays her fines, costs and restitution, Cheslock ruled.
Bressi pleaded no contest Aug. 21 to two counts of criminal solicitation and one each of theft by deception, receiving stolen property, tampering with public records, tampering with records or identification and intimidation of witness or victim.
Pottsville police initially charged Bressi with taking $6,000 by falsely billing the county for custody conferences that never occurred from 2006 through 2009. Prosecutors said Bressi billed the county $125 for each case in which the parties reached a consent decree, an agreement made without her help or the necessity of a conference.
The exact amount of money taken had been disputed, and Cheslock, in setting restitution, made the determination as to the amount.
By pleading no contest, Bressi did not admit the truth of the charges against her, but offered no defense to them, agreed prosecutors had sufficient evidence to prove her guilty of them and agreed to be sentenced as if she had been found or pleaded guilty.
However, Killion said the board regards a no contest plea as exactly the same as a guilty plea.
"It has no impact on our process," he said. "Our rules are fairly clear. It is a conviction."
Bressi has a duty under state rules to inform the board of the sentence, according to Assistant Secretary Marcie Sloan .
"She has to report it to our Office of Disciplinary Counsel," Sloan said Wednesday.
Killion said the office will notify the state Supreme Court of the case.
"We then proceed with any discipline we deem appropriate," Killion said.
The office will investigate the case and determine whether to file charges and hold a hearing, Killion said.
Sloan said if the charges are filed, the hearing will be held in Trooper, Montgomery County, the headquarters of District 2. Schuylkill is one of nine counties in District 2; the board divides the state into four districts for administrative and disciplinary purposes.
Bressi has the right to a hearing but the issue will be punishment, not culpability, according to Killion.
"The conviction speaks for itself," he said. "She has the right to present whatever mitigating testimony she wants."
Sanctions the board may apply range from an informal admonition, which is given privately, not publicized and does not affect the ability to practice law, to disbarment, which permanently revokes the right to practice law. In Pennsylvania, a disbarred lawyer may apply for reinstatement after five years but reinstatement is not guaranteed.