TEXAS - Disbarred lawyer stole from estates of clients after their death

TRAVIS COUNTY TEXAS COURTS

Disbarred lawyer sentenced

to 15 years

Attorney stole from estates of

three clients after their deaths,

authorities said.

By Tony Plohetski

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A state district judge sentenced a disbarred Austin lawyer Monday

to 15 years in prison for what prosecutors described as a twodecade

practice of stealing from the estates of elderly clients after

they died.

Terry Erwin Stork, 70, pleaded guilty to felony theft charges in

June and faced up to life in prison on two of the charges.

"It's hard for me to think of a set of facts worse than this," state

District Judge Bob Perkins said during the sentencing hearing,

referring to how lawyers should handle the affairs of clients.

Wearing a Travis County Jail jumpsuit and sitting in a wheelchair,

Stork rested his head in his hands during much of the half-hour

proceeding.

His attorney had sought a lighter sentence, saying that Stork is

elderly and has health problems.

According to lawsuits and arrest affidavits, Stork systematically

mismanaged or stole from three estates worth more than $800,000

over two decades. The records said Stork lived in the home of a

deceased client from 1987 to 2002 and deposited money from the

sale of the home into his own bank account.

In another case, he was accused of letting the home of a client sit

empty, driving the woman's Buick LeSabre to disrepair and using

her money to add to his rare china collection. He was also

accused of failing to pass along inheritances to people and

organizations that were supposed to get them.

During the hearing, Travis County Assistant District Attorney Patty

Robertson told Perkins that evidence shows that Stork has

continued practicing law since his arrest by using the identity of his

brother, who is also a lawyer. Stork surrendered his law license

last year.

Robertson said authorities are investigating.

She also said Stork preyed on elderly women with no children who

had sought his help to care for their estates.

"He took care of it all right," Robertson said. "He pocketed their

money. He looted their estates."

Robertson said that it is impossible to know exactly how much

money Stork stole, but she estimated that it could be more than

$700,000.

Stork's attorney, Joe James Sawyer, asked Perkins for a lenient

sentence, saying that his client has sleep apnea and cardiac and

back problems.

He said that his client has made "pretty decent strides" to

reimburse some of the estates and has forfeited ownership of the

property and building where he used to practice law to help do so.

Stork has been in job negotiations with an antique business in

Ohio and could use some of his salary to repay the estates,

Sawyer said.

Sawyer questioned the benefits of sending Stork to prison, saying

that he would need health care behind bars.

Robertson said that although Stork in recent weeks has

reimbursed the estates some money, he continues to own pieces

of china that some estimates say togetherare worth more than $1

million.

A small group of heirs of one of the victims attended the hearing.

An attorney representing them declined to comment, citing an

ongoing civil case against Stork.

tplohetski@statesman.com; 445-3605