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Court Deals Setback to Attorney Convicted in Sex Scam
Texas Lawyer
October 08, 2009
Ted Roberts, the San Antonio attorney convicted of theft-related charges for threatening litigation to extract money from two men who had sexual liaisons with his then-wife in 2001 and 2002, has failed to persuade the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to review his case. Without issuing an opinion, the CCA on Wednesday refused Roberts' petition for discretionary review.
In March 2007, a 226th district court jury in San Antonio found Roberts guilty on two counts of theft and one count of a continuing course and scheme to commit theft of $100,000 with regard to two of the four men with whom Roberts' then-wife Mary had affairs. However, the jury found him not guilty of the alleged threats of litigation against two of the men. He had threatened to file petitions under Rule 202 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure for possible suits against all four men.
In June 2007, district court Judge Sid Harle sentenced Ted Roberts to five years in prison on each of the three charges, with the sentences to run concurrently.
In December 2007, another jury convicted San Antonio solo Mary Roberts, now Mary Schorlemer, of five counts of theft stemming from allegations that she helped her then-husband extract $155,000 from the four men with whom she had affairs.
In February 2008, Harle assessed her punishment at 10 years of probation and 400 hours of community service.
In October 2008, San Antonio's 4th Court of Appeals rejected Ted Roberts' contention that he did not commit a crime when he threatened to file Rule 202 petitions unless the men who had affairs with his wife paid him. The 4th Court affirmed his conviction.
On June 25, 2008, the Board of Disciplinary Appeals, appointed by the Texas Supreme Court, entered an interlocutory order of suspension in Ted Roberts' case. As noted in the order, BODA concluded that he should be disbarred once his conviction is affirmed and becomes final. BODA also issued an interlocutory order of suspension in In the Matter of Mary Roberts on June 25, 2008, but did not conclude that she should be disbarred.
Schorlemer says that she and Ted Roberts divorced on Oct. 27, 2008. Her appeal of the theft convictions is pending at the 4th Court, says Schorlemer.
Ted Roberts says he will file a motion for rehearing of his petition for discretionary review with the CCA. Roberts says the amended petition he hurriedly filed with the CCA inadequately described the constitutional issues raised by his prosecution. He also says the 4th Court of Appeals did not address all issues discussed in his brief to that court. "They have no discretion to do that," he says.
Susan Reed, Bexar County's criminal district attorney, says she thinks Ted Roberts gave a black eye to the legal community. "The justice system has proven that we hold our own responsible for bad conduct," Reed says.
Cliff Herberg, first assistant in the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney's Office, did not return a telephone call.
This article first appeared on Tex Parte Blog.
