Lawyer who stole $200K from aunt faces jail
Daniel Tepfer
Updated 11:35 pm, Thursday, April 18, 2013
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BRIDGEPORT -- A former White House adviser, aide to a U.S. congressman and prosecutor, Rik Bachman can now add convicted embezzler to his resume.
The Fairfield lawyer pleaded no contest Thursday in state Superior Court to second-degree larceny for stealing more than $200,000 from the accounts of his 85-year-old aunt. He is accused of using some of the money to buy sports memorabilia.
Senior Assistant State's Attorney Howard Stein said he will recommend the 57-year-old Bachman, of Woodbine Lane, serve a three-year prison term when he is sentenced by Judge Robert Devlin Jr. on June 28.
"The state intends to ask for the maximum amount of time under the plea agreement," Stein said. "As a member of the bar, he should have been more than aware that his conduct was unlawful in nature."
Bachman and his lawyer, Bruce Koffsky, declined comment as they left the Main Street courthouse. Koffsky retained the right to ask for a more lenient sentence under the plea bargain.
Bachman, who had a law office in White Plains, N.Y., was a former New York prosecutor specializing in financial crimes and previously worked in the White House and for former New York congressman Jack Kemp.
He is accused of taking over the affairs of his aunt, Beatrice Bachman, in 2009 and keeping her secluded from other family members while he made large withdrawals from her bank accounts for his personal use.
Stein said after relatives repeatedly sought to contact the woman, Bachman had her moved from her apartment in New York to an assisted-living facility in Trumbull.
In September 2010, the local probate judge ordered that Beatrice Bachman's assets be frozen for her own protection, the prosecutor said. But despite the order, Bachman continued to take money from his aunt's accounts.
After Beatrice Bachman died in June 2011, the arrest warrant affidavit states Rik Bachman had purchases for sports memorabilia sent to her former room at the assisted-living facility that he would pick up.
Bachman told the judge he was not admitting to the allegations against him, but conceded there was a good chance he could be convicted if he went to trial and therefore decided to no longer contest the case.
The Fairfield lawyer pleaded no contest Thursday in state Superior Court to second-degree larceny for stealing more than $200,000 from the accounts of his 85-year-old aunt. He is accused of using some of the money to buy sports memorabilia.
Senior Assistant State's Attorney Howard Stein said he will recommend the 57-year-old Bachman, of Woodbine Lane, serve a three-year prison term when he is sentenced by Judge Robert Devlin Jr. on June 28.
"The state intends to ask for the maximum amount of time under the plea agreement," Stein said. "As a member of the bar, he should have been more than aware that his conduct was unlawful in nature."
Bachman and his lawyer, Bruce Koffsky, declined comment as they left the Main Street courthouse. Koffsky retained the right to ask for a more lenient sentence under the plea bargain.
Bachman, who had a law office in White Plains, N.Y., was a former New York prosecutor specializing in financial crimes and previously worked in the White House and for former New York congressman Jack Kemp.
He is accused of taking over the affairs of his aunt, Beatrice Bachman, in 2009 and keeping her secluded from other family members while he made large withdrawals from her bank accounts for his personal use.
Stein said after relatives repeatedly sought to contact the woman, Bachman had her moved from her apartment in New York to an assisted-living facility in Trumbull.
In September 2010, the local probate judge ordered that Beatrice Bachman's assets be frozen for her own protection, the prosecutor said. But despite the order, Bachman continued to take money from his aunt's accounts.
After Beatrice Bachman died in June 2011, the arrest warrant affidavit states Rik Bachman had purchases for sports memorabilia sent to her former room at the assisted-living facility that he would pick up.
Bachman told the judge he was not admitting to the allegations against him, but conceded there was a good chance he could be convicted if he went to trial and therefore decided to no longer contest the case.
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Lawyer-who-stole-200K-from-aunt-faces-jail-4445121.php#ixzz2S5KGjQGS
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