Former Attorney Thomas Murtha Denied Compassionate Release From Prison
A federal judge this week denied a compassionate request from prison plea from former Connecticut attorney Thomas Murtha, who was sentenced to 78 months in prison for stealing about $2 million from clients and family members.
July 30, 2020 at 12:11 PM
3 minute read
Thomas Murtha. Courtesy photo
A Connecticut federal judge has denied former attorney Thomas Murtha's compassionate release from prison, finding he has not shown he's especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
In turning down the request Monday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Michael Shea said the 64-year-old Murtha has not definitively shown he is prone to getting the novel coronavirus at the Ashland Federal Correctional Institute in Kentucky. Murtha is serving 78 months in prison for stealing about $2 million from clients and relatives.
In his July 1 request for compassionate release, Murtha said he is at high risk for serious illness or death from COVID-19 because of his age, potential lung damage from asbestos exposure and high cholesterol.
While Murtha attached a medical record indicating he was exposed to asbestos while working on the warden's home in October 2019, Shea said Murtha in a medical questionnaire a month later said he was never exposed to asbestos and "had never experienced any chest illness or lung issues, and considered himself to be in good health."
While Murtha said in his request for compassionate release that it's not unusual for defendants who have underlying health issues to be released early from prison for nonviolent crimes, both the government and Shea said the former attorney hurt many people.
Shea wrote that Murtha "was a lawyer who grossly abused the trust that his clients, his friends and family, and society as a whole placed in him. He did so repeatedly, in a variety of ways, and all to serve his own selfish interests—leaving dozens of traumatized victims in his wake."
Shea continued: "His conduct also damages the legal profession by eroding the trust our society places in lawyers. His clients and the others he victimized likely will never trust lawyers, or the legal system, again, even when they may need to. … Indeed, his release would promote disrespect for the law."
Murtha was a partner and managing member of the now-defunct Maher & Murtha. At sentencing after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud, Shea ordered Murtha to pay $1.99 million in restitution, and to forfeit his interest in a house he owned in Michigan and a 2.11-carat diamond engagement ring the government said he improperly seized.
Murtha, who practiced law from 1981 to 2016, resigned from the Connecticut Bar in September 2016 after three grievance complaints accused him of defrauding multiple people.
Murtha is represented by Moira Buckley, an assistant federal defender in Hartford. Buckley didn't respond to a request for comment Thursday.
In addition, Thomas Carson, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut, declined to comment.
Related stories:
Bridgeport Attorney Sentenced to 78 Months for Stealing About $2 Million From Clients, Relatives
'Such a F—ing Hard Time': A Look at Attorneys Behaving Badly in 2018
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