A New Jersey judge has decided that a disbarred New York City lawyer will not have to serve a prison term for stealing funds from a client.
Instead, 48-year-old Jeffrey Squitieri must serve five years of probation and pay $88,000 in restitution.
Bergen County prosecutors say the theft occurred in December 2009, while Squitieri was practicing as a licensed personal injury attorney in New York City and Englewood Cliffs.
Investigators determined that he diverted more than $75,000 from a client's personal injury insurance settlement for his personal use.
Squitieri was disbarred as an attorney in January 2013, and is now serving a federal prison term for health-care fraud.
He has said that cocaine and alcohol abuse caused his problems, but he has received drug treatment while in prison.
