JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled to suspend 45 attorneys from the practice of law for being in violation of the Rules Governing the Missouri Bar and the Judiciary for their failure to pay taxes.
Rule 5.245 (a) states that if attorneys are delinquent in filing tax returns or fail to file returns, they would be suspended until the matter is resolved. The following attorneys were determined to be in violation and were suspended:
Phillip T. Algee (Bar Number 33601), Christopher Farrell Arbuckle (Bar Number 49102), Victor T. Avellino (Bar Number 38376), Ronald H. Barlett (Bar Number 31548), James Russell Brown (Bar Number 42100), Samuel Scott Burnett (Bar Number 64297), Richard Blong Dempsey Jr. (Bar Number 46671), Michael Scott Dodig (Bar Number 44595), Justin Mederic Durel (Bar Number 65658), Steve William Edwards (Bar Number 27506), Cara Renee Fitzgerald (Bar Number 66253), Christine Marie Fuchs (Bar Number 62525), Thomas K. Hendrix Jr. (Bar Number 22613), Russell Henley Jr. (Bar Number 60216), Michele Marie Horn (Bar Number 56292), Nancy Sue Jochens (Bar Number 49022), William Evan Johnson Jr. (Bar Number 52541), Michael Bradley Kratz (Bar Number 38231), Barbara Ann Knops (Bar Number 47081), Peter Charles Knops (Bar Number 43516), William H. Leedy (Bar Number 15461), Steven Lewis (Bar Number 35534), Brady Michael McAninch (Bar Number 67679), Paul T. Miller (Bar Number 21814), Stephanie M. Montgomery (Bar Number 66546), Kelsey Gene O’Brian (Bar Number 62245), Michael Anthony Peetz (Bar Number 45247), Anthony Carl Pepe (Bar Number 58328), Kathryn Louise Fricke Pietarilla (Bar Number 35712), Sam Edward Poston (Bar Number 40589), Alfred J. Rathert (Bar Number 16868), JulieAnne Wood Riley (Bar Number 63421), Nadia Tahisha Sangster (Bar Number 59240), Lisa Savoy (Bar Number 48297), Patricia F. Scott (Bar Number 28314), Samuel C. Sherwood Jr. (Bar Number 14961), Daniel Reed Smith (Bar Number 58812), Robyn Renee Strange (Bar Number 45933), Rebecca Jane Tatlow (Bar Number 39346), David Clark Vaughn III (Bar Number 38173), Elbert A. Walton Jr. (Bar Number 24547), Robert P. Warden (Bar Number 15986), Joe B. Whisler (Bar Number 24309), Nanci Rae Wisdom (Bar Number 39359) and Steve Wolf (Bar Number 46027).
In order to be considered for reinstatement, the attorneys will need to have the Department of Revenue strike their name from the list of attorneys provided to the courts or provide an affidavit explaining how and why the “tax liability is being contested.”