• Morris Glucksman, 68, surrenders his law license on Tuesday amid accusations he stole nearly $60,000 from an estate of a woman and her son. Photo: Stamford Police Department / Contributed Photo / Stamford Advocate Contributed
Photo: Stamford Police Department / Contributed Photo
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Morris Glucksman, 68, surrenders his law license on Tuesday amid accusations he stole nearly $60,000 from an estate of a woman and her son.
Morris Glucksman, 68, surrenders his law license on Tuesday amid accusations he stole nearly $60,000 from an estate of a woman and her son.
Photo: Stamford Police Department / Contributed Photo
STAMFORD — A city attorney with more than 40 years of experience surrendered his law license this week amid accusations he stole nearly $60,000 from the estates of a woman and her son.
Morris Glucksman, 68, ended his 42-year law career Tuesday when he voluntarily resigned his license to practice law in the state and agreed to never ask for its reinstatement. Judge Douglas Mintz accepted the civil and real estate attorney’s resignation.
Glucksman’s attorney, John Robert Gulash, declined comment after the brief hearing in state Superior Court in Stamford.
Glucksman was back in court Wednesday when he pleaded not guilty to first-degree larceny and second-degree forgery.
Gulash said it wasn’t appropriate to comment on the case since he was still gathering information from state prosecutors.
The Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel, which pursues grievance complaints against attorneys on behalf of its clients, pushed for Glucksman to surrender his license after determining he posed a “threat of irreparable harm to current and prospective clients.”
Karyl Carrasquilla, who heads the council, said she was saddened by the accusations against Glucksman.
“It is always a sad day when a lawyer with a 40-plus-year practice is faced with allegations like these and tenders his law license,” Carrasquilla said.
She said Glucksman was not required to surrender his license, but said it is common for attorneys to forfeit their license when facing these types of charges.
Carrasquilla said New Canaan attorney Ann Brickley volunteered as a trustee to help sort out Glucksman’s clients and protect their interests.
“It is a huge service they do for the Judicial Branch and we completely appreciate everyone who has worked as a trustee in any of our disciplinary matters,” Carrasquilla said.
The Statewide Grievance Committee will soon audit Glucksman’s trustee account.
According to documents contained in his court files, Glucksman stole about $58,000 from the estates of a woman and her son soon after they died three months apart about five years ago.
He also did not comply with several probate orders and even submitted a forged trust document into evidence in probate court, the documents state. The family reported Glucksman’s handling of the estate to police in November.
The family also accused Glucksman of failing to winterize a house belonging to the estate, causing a water main to burst and reducing the property’s value by $72,000 as a result of his negligence, according to court documents.
A day after the woman died in October 2010, Glucksman withdrew $25,000 from her account but didn’t file her will in probate court for nearly three years, court documents state.
A month after her death, Glucksman drafted three checks — two purportedly signed by the woman — written out to himself, court documents state.
Three months later, Glucksman took $15,000 from a money market account belonging to the woman’s son on the day he died, according to court documents. Glucksman deposited the money into his own account and continued to cash checks from the man’s account over the following year, the documents state.
Police say Glucksman also sold $33,000 worth of sports memorabilia from the estates, but never deposited the money into accounts belonging to the estates.
Glucksman is due back in court June 20.
jnickerson@scni.com;