Albert Moriarty was charged of seven felony charges — including securities fraud and scheming to defraud — this past June.
Celina Oseguera
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Albert Moriarty, the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Famer who put $625,000 toward the Alex G. Spanos Stadium scoreboard, lost his second attorney, Scott Whitenack, late last month, according to the San Luis Obispo District Attorney office website.
Whitenack requested to withdraw from the case during a pretrial hearing Jan. 29.
A hearing to appoint a new case attorney will be held Feb. 26 at the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.
Whitenack did not personally comment on why he withdrew, according to New Times. However, the profile and documents on the State Bar of California website explained that Whitenack has been temporarily suspended from practicing law as of Feb. 3.
Moriarty met Whitenack while in jail and made him his official attorney five days after Whitenack was released.
The State Bar website provides information about California law and allows users to search past and present attorneys in the state, whether or not they are currently practicing law.
The state bar cited two misdemeanors Whitenack was tried for in October 2013 as the reason behind his interim suspension. Those misdemeanors included petty theft and driving with a suspended license.
Laura Ernde, communications director for the State Bar of California, said it is not yet clear when Whitenack will be allowed to practice law again. The State Bar Court is still considering whether or not to punish him for the misdemeanors committed under the attorney title.
According to State Bar documents, Whitenack said his conviction was unrelated to his practice of law. The State Bar cited that he had no evidence to back that claim.
Whitenack is the second attorney Moriarty has gone through after being charged of seven felony charges, including securities fraud and scheming to defraud, in June 2013. Moriarty was initially represented by attorney Tom Allen, but replaced him with Whitenack in mid-October.
Whitenack might be best known for his talk at Moriarty’s pre-preliminary hearing in October, when he read a poem written by a fellow inmate about Moriarty.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated Moriarty had been convicted of seven felonies. He was charged in June and has not been found guilty, which this article has been updated to reflect.