Ex-McHenry attorney accused of theft
A once prominent McHenry County attorney convicted two years ago for possessing child pornography found himself back in criminal court Tuesday morning, accused of stealing $9,500 from a client.
John A. Roth, 49, of McHenry, faces a felony theft charge alleging he refused for more than three years to turn over funds belonging to a Wonder Lake property owner who hired him to help sell a home.
Roth, a former municipal law attorney whose clients included the villages of Cary, Island Lake, Port Barrington and Richmond, was arrested without incident Monday by McHenry County Sheriff's police.
He spent Monday night in the McHenry County jail then was released on his own recognizance after a brief court appearance Tuesday morning.
Roth could not be reached immediately for comment Tuesday. A listed phone number for him had been disconnected.
Roth now is serving a 30-month probation sentence he received after pleading guilty in 2006 to three counts of possession of child pornography. The charges stemmed from a 2004 raid on his McHenry law office in which authorities said they found numerous computer images of children in lewd, sexually explicit poses.
Last year the Illinois Supreme Court suspended Roth's law license for at least 2 years as a result of the convictions.
Sheriff's police said the new arrest culminated an investigation begun in April when the property owner contacted the department alleging Roth had not returned $9,500 placed in escrow four years earlier as part of a real estate deal.
Sgt. James Popovits said that as part of the deal, Roth placed $10,000 of the seller's money in escrow to cover any septic repairs necessary within one year of the property's sale. At the end of the year, Roth was to return whatever remained in the account to the seller.
"They tried to go the civil (court) route, but when the escrow still wasn't returned she took it to our criminal investigation division," Popovits said.
The new charge against Roth is a Class 3 felony, punishable by a maximum two to five years in prison. He is scheduled to return to court on the charge Aug. 19.