Brian Baxter of AmLaw Daily writes about the tax problems of Kenneth Heller, New York’s “most obnoxious lawyer:”
Being dubbed the most obnoxious lawyer in the nation’s largest city is an impressive feat. That’s what the Village Voice called Kenneth Heller a few years ago, before he was disbarred for being, well, a boor. Now Heller is back in the headlines, charged along with six other defendants for collectively hiding $100 million from the IRS.
In a 12-page complaint filed Thursday in U.S. district court in Manhattan (available below), the government claims Heller stored $26 million in UBS accounts, $20 million of which he later transferred to a smaller Swiss bank. Bloomberg reports that Heller, 80, is charged with tax evasion and failing to file an FBAR–a report notifying the IRS of foreign bank or financial accounts.
This case isn’t Heller’s first brush with infamy. He was disbarred in 2004 for screaming at and threatening judges, reports the New York Daily News. The incident was followed by a profile of the ex-lawyer in the Village Voice, in which the paper dubbed Heller the nastiest lawyer in New York.
I think most people would agree with Baxter that one has to work extremely hard to win the title of “most obnoxious lawyer in New York.”¹
Footnotes:
¹ Baxter points out that civil rights lawyer William Kunstler reportedly used to call Heller “Kenny Yeller,” according to an anecdote from Kunstler protégé Ronald Kuby in the Voice article. My experience is that lawyers who yell and make loud threats are almost always covering for a lack of legal knowledge and/or a lack of self-confidence. The lawyers to watch out for are the ones who quietly and politely tell you they will see you in court. These guys have a case.
1 response so far ↓
1 HappyTaxDude // Apr 21, 2010 at 8:34 am
I don’t care how uncivil his personality is, you have to admit he’s a most handsome fellow.
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