EFTA01196860.pdf

EXCLUSIVE - Blended Star Adam Sandler's Father-in-Law Mixed up in Fraud! May 23, 2014 by Jose Lambiet Adam Sandler and wife Jackie at the premiere of Blended Wednesday in Los Angeles (Splash News photo) MIAMI — While Adam Sandler's pro-family movie Blended comes out today nationwide, a member his own family's been hit with accusations of fraud! Father-in-law Joe Titone, a lawyer and former Florida state representative, is a target of a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County that alleges he lied when he claimed to represent a client then pocketed a part of the settlement he negotiated. It's yet another Gossip Extra exclusive: Titone, the father of Sandler's wife Jackie, was also the subject of a Florida Bar Association complaint in connection with the lawsuit filed against him and Broward businessman Darren Baysinger. In a nutshell, Pompano Beach resident Titone, 67, is accused of participating in a scheme to defraud an investor who died shortly after buying $100,000 in merchandise bound for Jamaica. Joe Titone with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani photo) Here's what allegedly happened: In 2010, Miami investors Ernesto Liebster and Ken Manfredi bought 2,000 fancy locks from a Texas company. They were about to sell the locks to a wholesaler in Jamaica when things went south. First, the stash mysteriously vanished from its Miami warehouse, according to records. And Liebster died. Enter Titone, whose background is rather colorful. Sandler's father-in-law was a three-term Democratic state lawmaker when, in 1992, he was disbarred after pleading guilty to perjury and unlawful compensation. And he was sentenced to a year suspended jail sentence and four years' probation in connection with the double-charging of a client. EFTA01196860 Since then, Titone's law license has been re-instated and he's practicing again. The administrator of Liebster's estate claims in his lawsuit that Titone helped form a shell company then sued the locks' shipping agent for the theft — despite the fact Titone had nothing to do with the merchandise purchased! Titone, according to Liebster's heirs, was never asked to represent them nor discussed suing the shipping agent beforehand. In time, Titone negotiated a settlement for the theft, according to court papers, and received $25,000. He deposited it on the trust fund account of his attorney brother, Anthony Titone, and eventually pocketed $15,000. He then approached Liebster's family and offered to rep them against their insurance company to cash in some more on the theft. They rejected him, according to the lawsuit. Joe Titone, according to the paperwork, ducked the process servers for weeks but eventually was served with the complaint by Broward Sheriff's Office deputies. He disputed trying to avoid process, and the other allegations. "I know the plaintiffs socially," Titone said. "But I can't discuss the settlement in the lawsuit against the warehouse." The case may be headed to trial later this year. Said Michael Reppas, the plaintiffs' lawyer: "My clients have been completely taken advantage of, and my firm is zealously representing them until justice is obtained." Word is a bar complaint was filed against Titone as well, but it won't be public before its disposition. EFTA01196861