A former lawyer for Casey Anthony is held without bail in alleged drug smuggling scheme
A California lawyer who at one point represented Casey Anthony before his disbarment is being held in an alleged scheme to fly 3,300 pounds of cocaine from Ecuador for eventual distribution in the United States.
The former lawyer, Todd Macaluso, was arrested on Nov. 14 in Haiti, report the Orlando Sentinel and the San Diego Union-Tribune. He is being held without bail in Brooklyn, his lawyer told the Orlando Sentinel. Macaluso is charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute on board a U.S. registered plane.
The Union-Tribune describes Macaluso as an experienced pilot who handled aviation cases and was known for high verdicts. A federal arrest warrant says Macaluso planned to pilot the plane that would be loaded with cocaine in Ecuador and flown to Honduras, with the goal of eventually smuggling the drugs into the United States.
Macaluso had withdrawn from the Casey Anthony case in 2010 after California ethics authorities accused him of mishandling client trust account money. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud last year in a criminal case that accused him of defrauding clients and investors through agreements to fund his personal injury practice that used his clients’ cases as collateral, without their knowledge, according to this press release.
He was sentenced to five months in federal custody in November 2015.
