After 52 years as an attorney, Westchester, NY, attorney Richard T. Blancato has been disbarred. The five-justice opinion from the Appellate Division, Second Department specified that Blancato would be allowed to resign — and thereby be disbarred — after admitting he could not defend against misconduct allegations against him, which included a failure to safeguard client funds.
Blancato will also reportedly make a restitution payment of $245,000 to former client Francesco Racanelli or, in lieu of that, he can make the payment to the state Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. The Fordham Law graduate consented to his resignation being subject to future grievance committee complaints by a client for restitution.
Blancato’s disbarment is effective immediately.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).