By Brian Zanzonico
Eugene Benevenia, 65, who lives and practiced law in Franklin Square, notified his attorney in December that he had been stealing clients' money in escrow account funds during real estate and probate transactions for a year and half, Assistant District Attorney Peter Mancuso said. Benevenia's attorney, Kevin Keating of Garden City, then reached out to the D.A.'s office.
"I've prosecuted a fair number of cases of an attorney embezzling escrow funds, and don't recall a situation where they made first contact," Mancuso said.
Mancuso said Benevenia lost his medical insurance and used the stolen money to pay for his open-heart and prostate surgeries and his wife's hysterectomy, in addition to his children's college costs.
"It's a somewhat unusual situation," Keating said. "We voluntarily initiated a meeting with the D.A.'s office months ago. We just felt it was the appropriate way to handle this."
Benevenia surrendered to police on Monday, Aug. 15, and was arrested and charged with second-degree grand larceny. Judge David Gross released him without bail.
"He didn't do it because he's a good Samaritan," Mancuso said about Benevenia's December admission to the D.A.'s office. "What he did is terrible and he will be punished accordingly. The reason he came forward was because he had several closings coming up. He was robbing Peter to pay Paul. It's called kiting. He used one client's escrow money to pay off a previous client. It eventually got to the point where he had no money coming in to keep it going. [If he didn't turn himself in] the closings would have collapsed, the checks would have bounced."
The New York State Lawyers' Fund, a state agency that compensates victims of dishonest attorneys, has paid about $154,000 in compensation to seven or eight victims in total, Mancuso said. Keating said his client would not have the money to pay restitution if the courts rule he should.
"In one instance, Benevenia represented two complainants in the sale of their Flushing, New York, home," District Attorney Denis Dillon said in a statement. "The purchasers of the Flushing home made the down payment to Benevenia through a bank check and a personal check totaling $63,900 on Aug. 27, 2004. He deposited these checks into his escrow account and subsequently stole the money. The closing took place on Dec. 22, 2004, after another attorney had been substituted for Benevenia, with the $63,900 due and owed to the sellers."
The homeowners, two sisters, did not return several phone calls.
Benevenia has been practicing law since 1966. If convicted, he faces the possibility of going to jail until he is in his 80s.
"We are hopeful we'll be able to work this out," Keating said.
Comments about this story? FSeditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 240.
