Accused Lawyer Involved in Controversial Wills With Help of Two Lawyers
The lawyer accused of helping the son of wealthy socialite Brooke Astor steal money and artwork from his mother has a pattern of ingratiating himself with wealthy people. Lawyer Francis Morrissey Jr. often performed legal services without fees and gave gifts such as hams and turkeys or cashmere robes during the holidays.
And when the wealthy people later left Morrissey money in their wills or named his as an executor, he sometimes used the services of two other lawyers—Warren J. Forsythe and Peter J. Kelley, the New York Times reports. Some of the wills were challenged in court and all the lawyers “collected sizable fees” for their work, the Times says.
Morrissey was charged in November with conspiracy, forgery and possession of a forged instrument. Forsythe and Kelley have not been charged and are not accused of wrongdoing. Morrissey has also denied wrongdoing through his lawyer, Michael Ross.
Ross confirmed the other lawyers’ involvement in will matters involving Morrissey. “The drafting of will- and trust-related documents would be accomplished by the hiring of other capable trust and estate lawyers such as Warren Forsythe and his firm,” he told the Times. He said Morrissey, who is dyslexic, did not draft any documents. “Mr. Morrissey recommended matters to another capable trust and estate attorney, Peter Kelley,” Ross told the newspaper.
Lawyer Donald Novick alleged in a 2003 affidavit that “a long-term pattern exists in which Mr. Forsythe has prepared wills” in which “Mr. Morrissey is designated as a beneficiary, and Mr. Morrissey or Mr. Forsythe is named as a fiduciary,” the Times reports.
The Times report found and gave details of cases involving both Forsythe and Kelley. It noted two cases, one in which Kelley drafted a will and another in which he served as a witness to a will, both of which named Morrissey as executor.
Both Forsythe and Kelley also served as character witnesses for Morrissey when he petitioned to resume law practice after a two-year suspension for taking more than $900,000 out of an escrow account to pay a disputed legal fee. The petition was granted.
