'Baby Shacks' lawyer quits case
The attorney for the reputed former boss of the Patriarca crime family has asked the courts to step down from the case, citing an “ethical conflict.”
Providence lawyer Mary June Ciresi – who has represented Luigi “Baby Shacks” Manocchio since his return to Rhode Island in February – informed the court yesterday that she can no longer represent her client.
In a two-page filing, Ciresi said she has discovered an ethical conflict that bars her from further representation.
“A review of the recent discovery materials provided by the government revealed that a conflict of interest exists,” Ciresi wrote.
It’s unclear what the conflict is, but Ciresi referenced two rules from the state court’s “Rules of Professional Conduct.”
One states a lawyer “shall not represent a client if the representation of that client will be directly adverse to another client.” The other deals with representing another client in a similar or “substantially related matter.”
Ciresi has not returned calls for comment.
Eyewitness News legal analyst Lou Pulner said Ciresi clearly had to choose between two clients.
"It would appear she has another client that somehow collaterally involved in the matters she representing Manocchio on,” Pulner said. "You have to give 100 percent to one client."
The courts, which have to sign off on the request, have not been notified as to who is now representing Manocchio. In the filing, Ciresi said she has spoken to Manocchio about the conflict.
Manocchio, 83, of Providence, is accused of shaking down several Rhode Island strip clubs for protection money. He was scooped up in January as part of a national crackdown into organized crime.
The alleged mobster has been in federal custody since his arrest and is currently at Central Falls' Wyatt Detention Center. Earlier this week he filed with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an attempt to overturn U.S. District Court Judge William Smith’s decision to keep Manocchio imprisoned without bail.
A trial date has not been set yet in the case.
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/target_12/inside_mafia/%27baby-shacks%27-lawyer-quits-case
Providence lawyer Mary June Ciresi – who has represented Luigi “Baby Shacks” Manocchio since his return to Rhode Island in February – informed the court yesterday that she can no longer represent her client.
In a two-page filing, Ciresi said she has discovered an ethical conflict that bars her from further representation.
“A review of the recent discovery materials provided by the government revealed that a conflict of interest exists,” Ciresi wrote.
It’s unclear what the conflict is, but Ciresi referenced two rules from the state court’s “Rules of Professional Conduct.”
One states a lawyer “shall not represent a client if the representation of that client will be directly adverse to another client.” The other deals with representing another client in a similar or “substantially related matter.”
Ciresi has not returned calls for comment.
Eyewitness News legal analyst Lou Pulner said Ciresi clearly had to choose between two clients.
"It would appear she has another client that somehow collaterally involved in the matters she representing Manocchio on,” Pulner said. "You have to give 100 percent to one client."
The courts, which have to sign off on the request, have not been notified as to who is now representing Manocchio. In the filing, Ciresi said she has spoken to Manocchio about the conflict.
Manocchio, 83, of Providence, is accused of shaking down several Rhode Island strip clubs for protection money. He was scooped up in January as part of a national crackdown into organized crime.
The alleged mobster has been in federal custody since his arrest and is currently at Central Falls' Wyatt Detention Center. Earlier this week he filed with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an attempt to overturn U.S. District Court Judge William Smith’s decision to keep Manocchio imprisoned without bail.
A trial date has not been set yet in the case.
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/target_12/inside_mafia/%27baby-shacks%27-lawyer-quits-case
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