Francis X. Morrissey, who along with Anthony D. Marshall was convicted in December of looting socialite Brooke Astor’s estate, was disbarred last week by the Appellate Division, First Department. Under New York law, the unanimous panel ruled, Mr. Morrissey’s disbarment is mandatory because he was convicted of three felonies, including forging a codicil to Ms. Astor’s last will.
The mandatory nature of Judiciary Law §90(4)(a) also requires the rejection of a request from Mr. Morrissey’s lawyer, Thomas P. Puccio, that the disbarment be stayed pending resolution of the case, now on appeal to the First Department. Mr. Morrissey remains free on $5,000 cash and $500,000 personal recognizance bond. He was sentenced to a prison term of one to three years for his role in joining Mr. Marshall in pilfering his mother’s $132 million estate (NYLJ, Dec. 22, 2009). In 1995, Mr. Morrissey was suspended from the practice of law for two years, 217 AD 2d 741. He was reinstated in 1998 after a hearing, 254 AD 2d 219. Matter of Morrissey, M4807, appears on page 4 of the print edition of today’s Law Journal. — Daniel Wise
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