Disbarred Lawyer Charged with Practicing Illegally

Parsippany attorney John Montefusco Sr., disbarred for mail fraud in 2009, is facing brand new troubles, according to a collection of law enforcement officials.

Acting Morris County Prosecutor Frederic M. Knapp, Hopatcong Borough Police Chief Robert Brennan and Roxbury Township Police Chief James Simonetti announced Friday that Montefusco, 72, is facing a new charge—third degree unlawful practice of law.

Officials say that on a number of occasions between December 2012 and April 2013, Montefusco allegedly met with an individual and discussed providing legal representation in a pending criminal court matter. During that time period, Montefusco allegedly accepted money from the individual as a retainer to provide legal services.

In early 2008, Montefusco, then attorney for the Parsippany Planning Board, pleaded guilty to accepting $26,000 in bribes.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he admitted “that he gave his official assistance to a developer in return for benefits to him and his family that included discounted purchase prices on houses that allowed the family members to quickly resell the properties at substantial profit.”

Afterward, he was dismissed from the board and disbarred. As a condition of the disbarment, to which he agreed, according to the prosecutor's office, he was never to practice law in New Jersey again.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Montefusco is to be sentenced for this offense June 27.

Also charged in that case were Parsippany developer Edward Mosberg, whose fraud and bribery indictments were dropped last year due to his advanced age, and Montefusco's son, former Parsippany school board member John Montefusco Jr. The younger man, an insurance broker, was sentenced to three years probation in October 2008 after admitting guilt for his part in the incident. He also was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for not paying taxes on real estate profits from homes sold in what feds considered a legally questionable deal.

The new charges against the older Montefusco were the result of a "lengthy criminal investigation conducted by the Hopatcong Police Department, the Roxbury Police Department and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office," according to an official statement.

Montefusco was issued a summons and released Friday morning. He is scheduled to appear in court May 1.

Despite this accusation, the prosecutor's office maintained that Montefusco is presumed innocent unless and until he has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.