The legal community in Southeastern Indiana never ceases to amaze me. It was recently brought to my attention that Lawrenceburg attorney Thomas Blondell is now working on behalf of Ohio County, Indiana. Ohio County is the next county down the Ohio River from Dearborn County. Because of the county’s small size, Judge James D. Humphrey and Prosecutor Aaron Negangard serve Ohio County as well as Dearborn County. I guess s@#T isn’t the only thing that floats downstream.
Some of you whom have been following me for some time may remember that Thomas Blondell, formerly of Wood Lamping and Lehner, served as my second lawyer in my divorce. Mr. Blondell “fired” me after becoming upset with me after I picketed my former lawyer’s office. I retained Mr. Blondell’s services in March 2007 after Amy Streator, of Kellerman Law Offices in Batesville, Indiana, failed to file accurate and complete documents with the Ripley County Court. At the time I had asked Thomas Blondell if there was anything he could do to take action against my former lawyer. Mr. Blondell looked at me as if I just requested him to perform brain surgery on a Burmese Python. “I don’t know. I don’t handle lawyer malpractice.” Then he told me that he didn’t mind if I pursued the issue on my own. He told me that I could contact the bar. Nearly a year later, Mr. Blondell sent me an email stating, “Last Friday I attended Jack Kellerman's bar service in Ripley County and was informed that you have been "picketing" your prior counsel's office. Please confirm whether you are engaging in this practice and send me a copy of the 9 page letter you sent to Ms. Streator demanding payment in the amount of $4,000.00, so I may retain a copy in the file.”
Apparently Thomas Blondell did care if I handled the situation on my own. Lawyers like Thomas Blondell and Amy Streator go through life without any worries about being held accountable for their actions. Mr. Blondell told me that I could contact the Indiana Bar Association about the matter. Somehow Mr. Blondell failed to inform me that the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission was the appropriate place to file a complaint. I questioned why Mr. Blondell and Ms. Streator felt that it was necessary to discuss the matter at the funeral service of Amy Streator’s father, Jack Kellerman. I also questioned why Thomas Blondell would have a problem with someone picketing a law firm. Mr. Blondell responded (in large print),
“You still did not answer my question as to whether you picketed her office or attempted to settle your claim for $4,000.00. And, by the way...I am a card carrying member of an elite group of national attorneys, "The First Amendment Lawyers Association"....a group of @ 150 attorneys who cover and protect First Amendment issues throughout the country and am well aware of your ability to exercise your rights.”
“I have no problem with you trying to settle a claim, but it does cause concern when I discover that you..or someone you know... or maybe no one you know, pickets a law firm. I think that it is important to know and understand my clients and try to assist them any way I can..and their honesty provides me great insight into their thought process and motivation.”
Mr. Blondell, who would not return calls and who never had the nerve to talk about the situation in person, stated that he was well aware of rights to free speech because he was a card carrying member of an elite group of national attorneys, "The First Amendment Lawyers Association”....a group of [about] 150 attorneys who cover and protect First Amendment issues throughout the country.” Mr. Blondell was a member of an “elite” group of national attorneys who protect First Amendment rights across the country; unless those constitutional rights conflicted with the practices of other lawyers.
Mr. Blondell later fired me citing “communication” problems. I get that a lot. When people become backed into corners because of their own actions, they claim that it’s due to my communication deficiencies. What seemed to infuriate Thomas Blondell the most is when I informed Mr. Blondell that it may be a conflict of interest for him to be a member of the “elite” First Amendment Lawyers Association while being a school board member for the St. Lawrence Catholic School because lawyers associated with the Association often protect the rights of groups and speak at conferences associated with “Sex in Video Games”, “The War on Porn, Public Enemy Number 1, You”, “Gentleman’s Club Expo”, “Adult Entertainment Expo”, “The Everything to do with Sex Show”, FetishCon (the largest bondage show on the East Coast) and others. Mr. Blondell was seemed upset that I raised the issue concerning the conflicts between the Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis and protecting the rights of sexual bondage trade shows. Less than two weeks after Thomas Blondell informed me that he was a card carrying member of the First Amendment Lawyers Association, Mr. Blondell sent me a letter stating, “As far as my affiliation with the First Amendment Lawyers Association, I don’t believe that you should have any concern regarding what organizations I belong to or what boards I serve upon.” But you brought it up Tom. Mr. Blondell went on to write, “Considering the information and knowledge you obtained surfing the internet, I am certain that you discovered the wide variety of speech, conduct, actions and activities covered under the purview of the First Amendment.”
Blondell didn’t fire me because of communication problems; he fired me because he didn’t want to challenge Dr. Connor. He was also mad because I debunked his bulls#@t by searching the internet. Some lawyers do not like it when their clients question their authority; especially when the lawyer isn’t telling the truth. Dr. Connor released his child custody evaluation on August 29, 2007 and Blondell did everything in his power in not addressing it. Blondell claimed that he didn’t know if the evaluation was bad because he wasn’t a psychologist. Blondell never attempted to get a copy of the case file. Then he spent nearly half of a year “trying” to find another custody evaluator. When Blondell sent me a copy of a proposal to appoint Cincinnati psychologist Stuart Bassman to perform an evaluation, I informed Blondell that Dr. Bassman no longer performed custody evaluations. After charging me for drawing up a legal pleading to appoint a psychologist who did not perform custody evaluations, Blondell charged me for writing a letter to inform me that Stuart Bassman did not perform custody evaluations. Didn’t I just say that?
Blondell was a hard man to find after he fired me. When I went to his office to obtain a copy of my legal file, I was notified that Mr. Blondell was no longer with Wood Lamping and Lehner. The office worker was not aware of my file because Mr. Blondell did not mention my case in his move to, what is now, Zerbe, Garner, Miller, and Blondell. Mr. Blondell never intended to be a partner in the firm because the day that he fired me was the day he registered to run in the Democratic primary for the Dearborn County Superior Court. Some of the members of his new firm were providing financial backing for the election. Fortunately Blondell lost in the primary to Barbara Wyly. Fortunately Barbara Wyly lost to John Cleary. Barbara Wyly once told me that she never had any problems with Dr. Connor. I believe she has a pretty good understanding of how crooked Dr. Connor is; she, like Blondell, just didn’t want to upset the ox cart.
Did Thomas Blondell and I have a bad lawyer/client relationship? Not until I picketed Amy Streator’s office. Less than two weeks before Blondell contacted me about my dealings with Amy Streator, he emailed me a video titled, “dumb ass of the year award”. The video was of a teenager trying to shoot a bottle rocket out of his rectum. One of the boy’s friends was holding his legs while the other lit the rocket sticking out of the boy’s rectum. The rocket was lodged in his rectum far enough that the rocket did not take off; it just release a shower of sparks on the kid’s backside while his friend held his feet and wouldn’t let go. I didn’t really think it was appropriate for Thomas Blondell to send it to a client but it definitely would lend weight to the argument that Mr. Blondell must have felt pretty comfortable with the lawyer/client relationship between the two of us if he believed that it was all right to send a video of a teenager being sodomized by a bottle rocket.
Now Ohio County, Indiana employs Thomas Blondell. I’m trying to figure out what kind of resume that a lawyer has to have to be employed by Dearborn and Ohio Counties. A lawyer probably has to list at least five instances of illegal conduct so the counties know that the lawyer can “play ball.” You have to feel comfortable with going after law abiding citizens if you want to work for the county. Don’t expect Ohio County to do anything to right the situation because I’m sure that they got exactly what they were looking for, in Thomas Blondell. Hell, Negangard probably runs that county as well. What people can do is avoid lawyers like Thomas Blondell (of Zerbe, Garner, Miller, and Blondell) so they are not victims of false billing and vindictive behavior. Don’t get me wrong, Thomas Blondell will fight for your rights; just as long as your rights do not conflict with his friends.
Thank you for this information. I almost went with Amy Streator for my mediation for my child custody case and was just looking up her ratings and found your blog in the search. My mind is made up now, good looking out!
ReplyDeleteI too have been a victim to Thomas Blondell. Such a nightmare.
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