Legal Ethics
Ex-Lawyer Who Claimed Gambling Addiction Sentenced for Stealing
Posted May 6, 2009 12:19 PM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A disbarred New York lawyer who lost her gambling addiction lawsuit has been sentenced to three to nine years in prison for stealing from her client escrow account to support her casino sprees.
Arelia Taveras was sentenced last week after admitting she stole $130,000 to support her gambling, the New York Law Journal reports. She had pleaded guilty to five counts of grand larceny and one count of offering a false instrument for filing, according to the story.
Taveras had claimed in her lawsuit that seven casinos failed to stop her compulsive gambling that led to $1 million in losses. A federal judge dismissed the suit last year.
Taveras had alleged the casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas gave her high-roller treatment, offering her limousine rides and allowing her to bring her dog inside in her purse. She claimed she would stay at the tables for days without sleeping and eating, using disposable wipes to brush her teeth.
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Comments
Ouch (JAG - CALWP)
May 6, 2009 12:58 PM CST
Decades ago I interviewed a recovering gambling addict.
Gambling is one addiction you do not want. There is no limit to what you van loose. There is no limit to what you can you can bet on. You can gamble $10^12 on whether a vending machine will return change heads or tails up.
With alcohol you eventually will pass out.
With sex you will eventually become sore.
2009-05-06-4 1448 -0400
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B. McLeod
May 6, 2009 2:54 PM CST
This former colleague may actually be better off in prison. She will get regular meals and rest, and they will let her have a real toothbrush as well. She will just have to make sure to pay on any prison bets, or her new colleagues will wean her from gambling the hard way.
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