Former Roselle attorney sentenced to prison for swindling clients
A disbarred lawyer formerly of Roselle was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing more than $100,000 from clients, including a relative.
Lino J. Menconi, 52, who lives in Elmwood Park according to court records, was convicted in February of two counts of theft of more than $100,000. He was sentenced Tuesday.
In court documents, prosecutors said Menconi had power of attorney over an uncle who had an annuity policy worth more than $700,000. In December 2009, according to documents, Menconi directed the victim's annuity checks be sent to him at his office. He then used the money for law office expenses, a country club membership, his children's tuition and other expenses, authorities said.
In a second case, according to the original complaint, Menconi agreed to represent an 86-year-old man in his attempt to recover money the man had invested in an IRA. Menconi deposited the refund check into his own business account, prosecutors said.
A relative of Menconi's described him in an email as a "serial predator."
"He preyed on innocent people, many of them elderly, including his own Aunt Judy and Uncle Lino, my deceased parents, by holding himself out as an attorney who his clients could trust. But the reality was that his clients were never clients, they were his victims," wrote Susan K. Kilby.
"The sentencing gives myself and my brothers peace of mind that he is not out there continuing to deceive the public," she said.
Menconi was disbarred by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2014 after the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission said he "misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from a number of different clients, including his elderly and ailing aunt and uncle."