Opinion ID: 199159
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The B.B.O. testimony

Text: 19 Before any criminal charges were filed against Golenbock, the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers (B.B.O.) initiated an investigation of her professional conduct with regard to a number of matters. On December 21, 1995, Golenbock testified in the first of seven depositions before the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers. She did not know of any potential criminal investigation at that time, and answered questions about clients she had represented and the handling of funds, as well as her bankruptcy filing. There were no references to the Wellfleet property in this deposition. 20 On or around January 11, 1996, before the next scheduled deposition, the B.B.O. notified Golenbock by letter that it was concerned about certain aspects of her bankruptcy proceeding. This letter did not mention the Wellfleet property. Golenbock's attorney became concerned about the possibility of a criminal proceeding, and advised her to assert her Fifth Amendment privilege. On April 25, 1996, Golenbock again appeared before the B.B.O. Again, none of the questions referred to the Wellfleet property. Golenbock declined to answer any questions, asserting her Fifth Amendment privilege. 21 Golenbock then changed attorneys, retaining Edward Barshak for his expertise in B.B.O. practice. Barshak advised her as follows, as recounted in his affidavit: 22 I told her that if she continued to remain silent, she would be penalized. The penalty would be that the BBO would hold her silence against her. Specifically, the BBO would be allowed to draw from her silence any adverse inferences relating to any area of the investigation she refused to discuss. I also told her that those adverse inferences would mean that the BBO would find against her in relation to those areas of the investigation and that as a result, she would be disbarred or suspended. 23 On November 1, 1996, Golenbock again appeared before the B.B.O., and this time chose to forego her Fifth Amendment privilege and to answer the questions put to her. She answered additional questions on November 15, 1996. The testimony in these depositions concerned the Wellfleet property and other matters relevant to the subsequent criminal case against her. 24 Otis also testified before the B.B.O. on multiple occasions beginning in January, 1996. There, she stated that she became aware of Golenbock's and Stein's bankruptcy filings at some point. In 1992, Otis had submitted to the Internal Revenue Service a 1991 pleading from Golenbock's and Stein's bankruptcy cases, as well as a copy of the deed, in response to an inquiry concerning her 1992 tax return. Otis also told the B.B.O. that she made none of the mortgage payments and provided none of the funds to do so. However, she and her husband reported the income and mortgage payments on the Wellfleet property in their federal income tax returns for the years 1991-1994. Otis also testified that all the expenses of the Wellfleet property were being paid from its rental income. Her tax returns, however, reflected that there was no rental income for several years. In 1991, the one year in which there was reported rental income, it amounted to less than half of the mortgage payments.