21 Feb 2013 at 11:27 AM

Attorney Misconduct, Legal Ethics, Nude Dancing, Unemployment

Florida Prosecutor Who Used Badge For Strip Club Perks Is Stripped Of His Job

By Staci Zaretsky

Some say that models and bottles should be included in a lawyer’s employment benefits package, but failing that, VIP treatment at the local strip club comes in a close second. You just have to make sure you’re getting these perks on the down low, or else you might find yourself in the unemployment line.
That said, if you’re interested in potentially having to fish dollar bills out of your g-string as an alternative career due to your sudden joblessness, then perhaps you should consult with Ari Pregen, an assistant state attorney from Florida. Well, actually, that was his job before he got fired.
You see, when you walk into a strip club and expect to be treated like a king just because you’re a lawyer, you’re going to get yourself into some trouble when your superiors find out about it….

The Riptide 2.0 blog of the Miami New Times has the scoop on this titty bar tale of woe:

Nice porn stache.

Ari Pregen picked the wrong strip club to throw his weight around. On January 26, the Miami-Dade assistant state attorney gained free admission for himself and two pals into downtown Miami’s Goldrush by flashing his work badge at the titty bar’s executive manager Jeff Levy. A few hours later, Pregen again whipped out his law enforcement credentials so he wouldn’t have to pay a 15 percent credit card surcharge on lap dances he purchased.

Pregen, a graduate of St. Thomas University School of Law who’s been described as a “a frattish looking prosecutor fresh out of law school,” apparently repeated his antics the following week. FYI, if you’re trying to impress your friends by making yourself out to be a legal baller with prosecutorial perks, it’ll certainly help if your behavior is a little less “douchetastic,” bro.
But wait, this story gets even better. Levy, the strip club’s manager, filed an official complaint against Pregen. Of course, Pregen said that he hadn’t done anything wrong when he was confronted by his superiors on February 7, but the head honchos at his office were one step ahead of him. Apparently the powers that be at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office belong to the school of “pics or it didn’t happen” — and obtained from Levy a still shot of Pregen flashing his badge while inside the club. Here’s what happened next:

On February 8, for the second time in two days, Pregen falsely denied acting a fool and abusing his position. “Because we had proof that Mr. Pregen’s assertions were false and we found his statements not to be credible, Mr. Pregen was terminated,” [Lorna Salomon, senior employment counsel] wrote.

In this economy, it’s hard out here for a would-be pimp, and when Pregen learned that his time on the main stage with the State Attorney’s Office was up, he penned a pitiful apology note, complete with lines like, “I wish I could take it back,” “This job means everything to me,” and “I am unbelievably ashamed of myself.”
Sorry pal, but you made your bed in the surcharge-free champagne room, and now you’ve got to lie in it — or grind on it for your rent money, as the case may be. You won’t be making it rain subpoenas any time soon.
Check out Levy’s complaint, Pregen’s termination letter, and Pregen’s apology on the following pages

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/02/florida-prosecutor-who-used-badge-for-strip-club-perks-is-stripped-of-his-job/#more-226056

Judge of the Day: A State Judge Reveals What’s Underneath His Robe — Via Sext Message

By Staci Zaretsky

Judge Wade McCree

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, another judge goes and pulls a Weiner. In case you haven’t heard, Wade McCree, a state judge from Michigan, has been accused of sending nearly-nude photos to a bailiff via sext message. That’s right, we’ve got judicial divos posing for male pin-up shots right here in America (sorry to steal your Canadian thunder, Madam Justice Lori Douglas).
As they say on the internet, TTIWWOP — “This Thread Is Worthless Without Pictures.” Well, we’ve got one (safe for work, of course)….

Now, you’d think that a man wearing a bow tie would be conservative, but not Judge McCree. He’s sexy, and he knows it — no, seriously, he really is. Fox Detroit has the story:

A husband is upset after finding a photo of a nearly nude man on his wife’s cell phone. She says the photo came from her boss? What does she do for a living? She’s a court bailiff. Who’s her boss? Detroit 3rd Circuit Judge Wade McCree.

Needless to say, the bailiff’s husband was pissed — he filed a complaint with Michigan’s Judicial Tenure Commission. But he also did what any spouse would do if he were afraid of putting a beating on a man: he brought Judge McCree’s textual interpretation of his hot bod to the media’s attention.
Judge McCree, however, doesn’t really seem to give a damn. In an interview with Fox Detroit, the good judge had this to say of his “tastefully cropped,” semi-nude picture:

“Hot dog, yep that’s me. I’ve got no shame in my game. I ain’t talking to nobody else’s wife. You can almost get that here and now. I’ve sent that out to other women. There’s nothing nude about it. I’m in no more clothes than I’ll be at the Y this afternoon when I swim my mile.”

We’ve posted a photograph and a video clip of Judge McCree on the next page. Since many of you access this site at work, the picture has been redacted to remove any nudity — as redacted, it doesn’t show any body parts that you couldn’t see in a day at the beach, or in the pages of a Hollywood gossip magazine.
And now, for those of you who are willing, let’s move on to the photo of Judge McCree in nearly all his glory

http://abovethelaw.com/2012/04/judge-of-the-day-a-state-judge-reveals-whats-underneath-his-robe-via-sext-message/