Editor's note: This Shark would not want to bring his fingerlings or minnows into this guys office. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com
Stoughton attorney charged with child porn can still practice law
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Marc Vasconcellos/The Enterprise | 
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By Benjamin Paulin
The Enterprise
Posted Oct. 9, 2014 @ 6:00 am
The Enterprise
Posted Oct. 9, 2014 @ 6:00 am
STOUGHTON – A day after Richard Comenzo stood in Stoughton District Court in handcuffs facing child pornography charges, the Stoughton attorney was due in the same courthouse to defend several of his clients.
Comenzo, 62, of 15 Walnut Ave., Stoughton, pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of child pornography and dissemination of child pornography on Tuesday at Stoughton District Court.
Comenzo, who posted bail and was released Tuesday, did not appear in the Stoughton courthouse to defend his clients Wednesday. He will, however, be able to continue practicing law while his own case is pending, said Constance Vecchione, chief bar counsel of the Office of the Bar Counsel.
The Office of the Bar Counsel and the Board of Bar Overseers work in conjunction to investigate and evaluate complaints against Massachusetts lawyers and, when necessary, discipline them. When criminal cases against lawyers arise, like in the case of Comenzo, their only role is to hand down discipline to attorneys if they are convicted while law enforcement officials execute their own investigations.
Because Comenzo is innocent until proven guilty and because his alleged crimes did not involve his practice of the law, he is not currently facing suspension from the Board of Bar Overseers, Vecchione said.
“The fact that someone has been arraigned or indicted is not a conviction. So if it’s not a matter that otherwise requires a temporary suspension, which usually are situations that arise out of the practice of law, then yes, he is allowed to practice,” Vecchione said.
“We’re aware of this, and we’ll follow it, and if there’s a conviction, there will be disciplinary proceedings,” she said.
Comenzo posted $2,000 bail Tuesday and was released under the conditions that he not use the Internet and have no contact with children under 18. He must also wear a GPS monitoring device and must report weekly to probation officials.
State police executed a search warrant Tuesday morning at Comenzo’s apartment and seized multiple computers and flash drives containing child pornography, Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Anne Yas said during the arraignment.
Dozens of files were found on two computers inside Comenzo’s apartment containing photos of “prepubescent children in various stages of undress and/or engaged in sexual acts,” court documents say. Two flash drives, found in the trunk of Comenzo’s car, were also found to have child pornography stored on them and were seized, court documents show.
Yas also alleged that Comenzo posted photos of child porn and made comments soliciting sex from minors on Craigslist and Tumblr.
Comenzo was seen walking outside his law office at 719 Washington St. on Wednesday afternoon. When asked by The Enterprise to comment on the charges brought against him, he only said, quietly, “Private property,” before getting into his car and driving off.
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