Prosecutors are seeking to remove Maryam Assar from representing neighborhood activist Antoine Tolbert after she is accused of attending a meeting where witnesses were intimidated, according to court records.
Antoine Tolbert stands next to attorney Maryam Assar at his arraignment last month. Prosecutors are seeking to remove Assar from representing Tolbert, as she is accused of attending a meeting where witnesses were intimidated, according to court records.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Cleveland defense attorney has one week to respond to allegations by Cuyahoga County prosecutors that she was present during extortion and witness intimidation in the Maryam Assar of the Pattakos Law Firm represents Antoine “Fahiem” Tolbert, the leader of a neighborhood group called New Era Cleveland. Tolbert faces felony charges of extortion and intimidation after he and his group were accused in August of threatening gas station employees over protection money. A superseding indictment filed last month additionally charged Tolbert and co-defendant Rameer Askew, 19, with aggravated robbery and kidnapping for an incident in late July. Both have pleaded not guilty to those charges. Tolbert also has denied the charges stemming from the gas station encounter.after he and his group threatened staff at Race Fuel gas station on the city’s East Side and discouraged customers from shopping there, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said employees had declined to purchase protection services from the group. The day after Tolbert was arrested, prosecutors say, his wife, Austreeia Everson, and Assar met with the victims. “You better drop the charges or we’ll bus loads of people from Chicago and Detroit to shut you down,” Everson, 39, told the victims, according to prosecutors. She was indicted last month on charges of extortion and intimidation in connection with the incident. Everson, like Tolbert and Askew, is represented by Assar. Everson has pleaded not guilty. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Tasha Forchione on March 28 moved Common Pleas Judge William Vodrey to disqualify Assar and her law firm from the case. Following a hearing on March 31, Assar was instructed to respond to the motion in writing by April 14. “Defense counsel Assar was not only present at this meeting when these threats were made but, according to witness statements, participated in the conversation and encouraged the gas station employees to listen to Everson,” Forchione wrote. “… The circumstances of that meeting raise significant red flags about Assar potentially facilitating or, at the very least, choosing to attend and participate in a meeting with victims the day after Tolbert’s arrest and being a central witness to indicted criminal conduct.”According to prosecutors, Assar’s participation during the incidents creates an unresolvable conflict of interest between loyalty to her clients and “her own personal interest in avoiding criminal scrutiny or professional discipline.” Prosecutors contend Assar’s alleged involvement limits her ability to pursue plea negotiations, cross-examine witnesses and offer detached advice, among other concerns. “Even if no criminal charges are brought against Assar, the appearance of impropriety — that a defense attorney was present when a defendant’s spouse extorted and intimidated witnesses — raises serious concerns,” Forchione wrote. Prosecutors also argue Assar’s behavior potentially violates the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct, which governs standards and practices for attorneys. They say her presence alongside Everson lent an appearance of authority or legal endorsement to Everson’s threats. “The conflict and improprieties here are glaring, to be generous,” Forchione wrote. “The absurd and unjust consequences that would result at trial if Assar were permitted to continue representation of a defendant whose criminal conduct she witnessed, at a meeting in which Assar chose to participate — the day after Tolbert’s arrest — represent the antithesis of integrity, fairness, and justice.” Lexi Bauer, a spokeswoman for the county prosecutor’s office, said the motion “speaks for itself” and declined further comment with the case pending.in the city’s most crime-laden neighborhoods to deter violence, has in the past participated in police academy exercises aimed at community relations. In 2022, Tolbert filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and several police officers claiming he was wrongfully arrested for openly carrying a shotgun in the city’s Glenville neighborhood. TheIf you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
Antoine-Tolbert Maryam-Assar Extortion Intimidation Witness-Intimidation Pattakos-Law-Firm Rameer-Askew Austreeia-Everson Misconduct Lexi-Bauer
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