Opinion ID: 2336288
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Scifos' Position

Text: John and Kathleen Scifo testified that they never signed a contract to buy the Perez property, never attended a real estate closing in connection with that property, never retained Frank Leanza to represent them (and had met him only while waiting to testify at the ethics hearing), never agreed to assume the HUD mortgage, never made any repairs to the property and only received payment from respondent relating to loans they had extended to him. However, during a June 8, 1995 OAE interview, John Scifo asserted that he had indeed bought the building for his son John, Jr.'s, medical office. He claimed that respondent's father mentioned the building to him at a party; they agreed that Scifo would buy the property and they agreed that Alejandro Pena would be responsible for the renovations. Scifo further alleged at the OAE interview that, after his son John, Jr., decided to remain in Staten Island, Scifo was stuck with the building. He remembered that, in 1991, Alejandro Pena sent him a deed conveying the property to Scifo for $1.00. Scifo added that he had obtained an attorney through Alejandro Pena. Although Scifo could not recall the attorney's last name, because Scifo had a son named Frank, he remembered that the attorney's first name was Frank. Scifo stated that Alejandro Pena had insisted on giving him title to the property in order to secure a loan from him to respondent. At the ethics hearing, Scifo explained that, initially, at respondent's request, he had tried to protect respondent by asserting that he had bought the Union City property. However, when Scifo realized that he was placing himself in jeopardy, he decided to be more forthcoming. Thus, Scifo testified that while he had initially told the OAE that he had bought the building, in reality, he had merely loaned money to respondent. Leanza Testimony Frank Leanza testified that he never represented the Scifos on any matter, including the purchase of the Perez property. He asserted that a thorough search of his files revealed no record of this transaction. Although Leanza testified at the ethics hearing that he did not represent the Scifos at a real estate closing, during a 1995 interview with the OAE Leanza stated that he remembered representing a guy by the name of Scifo who bought some property in Union City, an old building in Union City. Leanza, an experienced attorney in 1986, cited numerous problems with the contract and closing documents of the sale, asserting that he would not have permitted such terms had he represented the buyers. Although Leanza testified that he did not represent the Scifos and was not involved in the Perez real estate transaction, checks were issued from Leanza's trust account to HUD in payment of the mortgage on the 48th Street property. The mortgage payments to HUD were drawn on Leanza's account after corresponding amounts were deposited. Those corresponding funds took the form of rent checks from Bajakian and respondent payable to Scifo. According to Leanza, he had run those checks through his trust account at respondent's request because respondent felt that, as the Scifos' tenant, he would be in a conflict of interest situation if he paid HUD on the Scifos' behalf.