The Convenient Death of Attorney Bryan Stone

THE CONVENIENT DEATH OF ATTORNEY BRYAN STONE

Bryan Stone wasn’t a criminal mastermind, as the State Bar of Texas would like the public to believe. He was short and overweight, and had a small practice when I first met him. Bryan Stone wanted to be successful, and for that he needed to play ball with the big boys at the State Bar of Texas. He needed to obey their orders, even if that meant breaking the law, and breaking the law he did. Bryan Stone took my case only to damage it as much as possible and prevent justice from being served. However, he couldn’t keep up the pace of his deceit, and eventually it caught up with him. A year after both him and attorney Ilene Smoger forged my signature on the back of the insurance check and cashed it, Bryan Stone ran out of lies on why it was taking so long for the insurance check to arrive. In desperation, he had his former partner call my new attorney begging her not to proceed with my case because they would get in a lot of trouble. Strong words coming from the mouth of a lawyer, pleading with a colleague not to do the right thing. The night before he was supposed to tell my new attorney the whereabouts of the insurance money, Bryan Stone met with somebody inside his car at a parking lot in Dallas, Texas. That night Bryan Stone died of a gunshot to his head.

The next day I received a call from my new attorney telling me that Bryan Stone’s former partner called her to let her know of his death, and that the insurance money was gone. Bryan Stone’s former partner kept calling my new attorney and directing her, which I thought was unusual. After that, my new attorney sent me a report painting Bryan Stone as a criminal who’d defrauded many, many people, including somebody for over a million dollars. She insisted I could never recuperate my money because too many people were after his estate, and I had to forget about the insurance money both Bryan Stone and Ilene Smoger defrauded me.

Later, I found out that was a lie.

In 1971, the Client’s Security Fund of the State Bar of Texas was created to refund clients who’ve been defrauded by their attorneys, or whose attorneys have died before the client could collect the money. I qualified for both requirements. However, there was a big problem: Ilene Smoger. She and Bryan Stone had cashed my insurance check after my name was forged on its back. Her name was on the front of the check (even though I had fired her as my attorney because she had already defrauded me of a previous insurance check). The State Bar of Texas was doing everything in their power to protect her, and that meant breaking every single law in Texas. They wouldn’t - couldn’t - allow me to learn about the Client’s Security Fund and have me file a petition for the insurance money they owed me. The check had been cashed by forging my signature, and both Bryan Stone and Ilene Smoger’s names were listed as the attorneys representing me. So my new attorney wrote me a wild report depicting Bryan Stone as a master criminal who owed money to everybody and their mother. She never mentioned once the Client’s Security Fund, even though that was the place for me to request my money as it is the normal procedure.

Another Texas lawyer breaking the law. Déjà vu all over again.

Bryan Stone wasn’t a criminal mastermind, as the State Bar of Texas would like the public to believe. Bryan Stone was a patsy. We all know what happens to patsies in Texas.

Dede Keith, where are you?

Well, Ms. Keith, I received your emailed letter dated December 17, 2007, stating that Gib Walton would take a look into my case. (Yeah, right). I never heard from you again and, needless to say, I never heard from Gib Walton. (Surprise, surprise). I did email you back, but you didn't respond to my email.
So, how much longer will it take for the Texas government to do the right thing and dispense justice? If the State Bar of Texas is corrupt and refuse to uphold Texas law and discipline attorneys who commit state-jail felonies, then the Texas government must intercede. There cannot be two different standards when applying the law. When an attorney defrauds her client and commits fraud, then that attorney must be disciplined in accordance to the law. To claim that an attorney who defrauded her client DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG is a fallacy and goes against the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedures. Any attorney who defrauds her client is committing Professional Malpractice, and that includes the attorney who defrauded me. Her name is Ilene Smoger of Smoger and Associates. The State Bar of Texas refused to discipline her even though she should have been disbarred in accordance to the law. She is still practicing law with a clean record in Dallas. Her law firm also have offices in Oakland, California.
Ms. Keith, I'm also curious about the reason why Senator Florence Shapiro refused to uphold the law after I contacted her. Through her aides, she said she would not do anything and that I deserve what happened to me because I went to the hearing without an attorney. I failed to see the reasoning behind her actions. I deserve not to have justice done because I went to the hearing without an attorney??? First of all: my then attorney Brian Stone said I should go to the hearing by myself. I followed the advice of my attorney. Second: I didn't know at the time, but Mr. Stone was friends with a lawyer working for Ms. Smoger, and all he did after taking my case was trying to destroy as much as possible to benefit Ms. Smoger and her chiropractor friends/partners in crime. Third: Ilene Smoger defrauded me. Period. The evidence is very clear, and it always was. Whether I went to the hearing with or without an attorney is irrelevant. The hearing was to determine whether Ilene Smoger defrauded me or not, not whether I went by myself or with an attorney. The investigative panel stated that Ms. Smoger stole my money. Those are the three relevant issues. Ms. Keith, I'm very curious as the reason why Senator Florence Shapiro is protecting shyster Ilene Smoger.
There is no justice in Texas. The State Bar of Texas and the Texas government make a mockery of justice. As long as the State Bar of Texas refuses to discipline attorneys who commit state-jail felonies and deserve to be disbarred, and as long as the Texas government refuses to uphold Texas law and protects those same shysters, nobody in Texas is safe. How can a regular person in Texas choose an attorney with any confidence, if the State Bar of Texas refuses to discipline shysters? If any shyster can practice law in Texas with a clean record, then what is the point in having a clean record? It means nothing to the general public.
If Mr. McCain wants to have a fighting chance of getting elected, he must distance himself from all the corrupt Texas politicians. Which means, he must distance himself from everybody in the Texas government. Mr. Obama advocates change, Mr. McCain has a reputation for honesty. Well, let's see who is willing and able to help a regular person obtain the long-denied justice she seeks.
In the meantime, Ilene Joy Smoger continues practicing law in Texas with a clean record when in fact she should have been disbarred. Who knows how many more shysters like her are in the same situation, practicing law in Texas with a clean record ready to defraud their unsuspecting clients.