Lord Have Mercy …

Just when you thought South Carolina couldn’t get any more scandalous, along comes a story that literally blows the doors off of the joint …

A disgraced former judge, a Supreme Court hopeful and the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, S.C. all stand accused of collusion in an “altar boy” case that’s poised to rock this state’s judicial establishment to its core - and force S.C. Chief Justice Jean Toal into perhaps the most precarious position of her career.

At issue is the startling accusation that attorneys who represented victims of sexual abuse colluded with a Circuit Court judge and the Charleston Diocese to pocket $2.5 million in legal fees and “steer away” future molestation charges.

From reporter Adam Parker of the Charleston Post and Courier:

The complaint, filed in December by Greenville lawyer J. David Flowers, alleges negligence and breach of fiduciary duty by class counsel; civil conspiracy by class counsel, the diocese and Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein; and “outrage against all Defendants.”

“Collusion by a church, lawyers and a judge to harm the rights and interests of victims of sexual abuse constitutes extreme and outrageous conduct which exceeds all possible bounds of decency and which must be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community,” the complaint states.

Larry Richter and David Haller, the two attorneys who represented the class of victims, strongly denied the allegations. Goodstein did not return phone and e-mail queries by The Post and Courier.

http://www.fitsnews.com/2009/02/27/lord-have-mercy/

What a crew........

a red shoe or a gold encrusted shepherds crook?