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The headline is (as is often the case) more sensational than the actual story.  Illinois attorney, Richard Stevens Connors, was convicted in 2002 of violating the “Trading With the Enemy Act.”  Mr. Connors now faces the possibility of disbarment.  Mr. Connors was stopped on the Canadian border with 46 boxes of Cuban cigars.  As a result, Mr. Connors was sentenced to 37 months in prison and fined $60,000.  The report and recommendation of the hearing board of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission found that Mr. Connors’ crime involved moral turpitude and recommended disbarment.  The board also considered the aggravating factor that Mr. Connors had previously converted client funds in 2006, and had been suspended for one year at that time.  Mr. Connors had been ordered to pay restitution, but as of the date of hearing had not paid any restitution.

-Josh J.T. Byrne, Esquire (H.T. ABA Journal)