Judge's son, a fake attorney, held in fraud

WILL IMPOSTER ATTORNEY DEFEND HIMSELF?
Judge's son held in fraud; cops say he sold restaurateur's home, then kept the money
The Staten Island Advance by PHIL HELSEL - July 18, 2008

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The son of a retired judge is accused of pretending to be an attorney in order to sell a woman's home, then keeping the money for himself. Police say Renauld Gregg, 29, the son of retired administrative law judge Ronald Gregg, played the role of an attorney well enough to close the sale of an acquaintance's Stapleton home -- then kept the $156,877 and left his victim in foreclosure.

"Unfortunately for this victim, Mr. Gregg was not an attorney and never handed over the proceeds of the sale," District Attorney Daniel Donovan said. Renauld Gregg allegedly slammed the door in the face of detectives who came to arrest him yesterday morning at the house on Wygant Place in West Brighton he shares with roommates, but by last night he was being held in lieu of $252,500 bail. The suspect's father told the Advance yesterday that he was surprised by the criminal charges, although he was aware of prosecutors' interest. "Nothing other than bits and pieces, speaking with people in the district attorney's office, who wanted to speak with him regarding a transaction," Ronald Gregg said. "But the allegation that he was representing himself as a lawyer, I had not heard that." Renauld Gregg also was a staffer in Al Curtis' 2004 campaign for the state Senate seat currently occupied by Diane Savino. Police say the younger Gregg befriended Robina White in 2006, when he was a regular at her Caribbean restaurant, the Coral Cafe in Stapleton. He allegedly convinced Ms. White that he was a lawyer -- he even produced business cards at one point -- and offered to help her sell her Hillside Avenue home in 2007.

He was successful with the sale, police say, but didn't use the $156,877 in proceeds to pay off Ms. White's mortgage, instead keeping the cash for himself. Ms. White discovered her home had been sold when she received a notice of foreclosure, said Donovan's spokesman, William Smith. The lender stopped foreclosure proceedings after learning Ms. White was the victim of a crime. Gregg was arraigned yesterday on charges of second-degree grand larceny, unauthorized practice of a profession and resisting arrest. The most serious charge carries up to 15 years in prison for a conviction at trial. He has a criminal record that includes out-of-state theft and larceny convictions, and was convicted here in 2004 for what prosecutors described as a "financial-related" felony; he received probation. No one answered the door yesterday at Ms. White's two-story home, which is surrounded by a white picket fence. The Coral Cafe, meanwhile, appears to have been closed for some time. Ronald Gregg was out of town and hadn't heard all the details of the charges against his son last night, but said he believes it stems from a misunderstanding. "Hopefully, when the full story comes out, you'll find out it was a mistake, and can be resolved amicably," the retired judge said. Phil Helsel is a news reporter for the Advance. He may be reached at helsel@siadvance.com.