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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Feds Subpoena Karoly Estate Records

Business entrepreneur and attorney Peter Karoly and his wife, Dr. Lauren Angstadt, an Allentown dentist, both died in February when their private plane crashed.

Two different wills for each estate are being offered for probate in Northampton County. The first set, from 1985, evenly divides the estate among both families. But a more recent set of wills, from 2006, gives Peter Karoly's law firm to brother John Karoly,who has sued enough cops to form his own police department. John's humble motto - "Sometimes Only the Best Will Do…"

A Karoly half-brother is convinced these new wills are fraudulent. But District Attorney John Morganelli refuses to investigate. "You can't just start a criminal investigation because someone believes a will is improper."

Apparently, the feds view this just a bit differently. On May 10, the Register of Wills was served with a subpoena to produce "any and all documents which verify or affirm the signatures of Peter J. Karoly, Esquire and Dr. Lauren B Angstadt, as related to wills maintained in Northampton County." Instead of appearing before the Grand Jury, she's been given the option of mailing the records to the U.S. Attorney's office in Allentown.
Afternoon Update: At Midnight, I told you feds had subpoenaed Karoly estate records. Now The Morning Call tells us Feds are at John Karoly's home, armed with a search warrant. (My thanks to a commenter who pointed this out. I knew something was up.)

13 comments:

J. SPIKE ROGAN said...

Who gets the debt of the Allentown Ambassadors, and the left over equipment???

Anonymous said...

Ohare how do you find this stuff out?

Anonymous said...

wonder if any of this is politically motivated. john has been a DNC player for years.

Bernie O'Hare said...

John Karoly is a major Dem constributor. I see your point.

Anonymous said...

Bernie, The Morning Call is reporting the Feds executed a search warrant on Karoly's house this morning.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Thanks for updating me. I'll update the blog.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Lurker,

I was walking down a hall and the subpoena just fell from above and hit me in the head.

Anonymous said...

The Morning Call has the contesting of the will filing by the two karoly sisters on line. It is pretty damning of John Karoly. I can't imagine Peter Karoly being that sloppy and unprofessional in filing a will. John has stepped in it this time

Anonymous said...

From the comments on this blog, is there a theme that District Attorney John Morganelli is 'biased'?

Bernie O'Hare said...

Anon 2:48!

Not at all. In fact, I think the DA probably made the right decision. Let me explain why.

There's a will contest. It can be resolved in court by taking testimony from witnesses in a civil proceeding. A criminal investigation would be premature.

If, after the will contest is completed, there is evidence of criminality, much of Morganelli's work would already be done.

It's actually a smart and fair way to approach this.

But now that the feds have entered the picture, people will be reluctant to testify in the will contest.

I don't think either office is biased. But if I were to pick one, I'd actually point my finger at the US Att'y. After all, Gonzales appears to have politicized the office. Karoly is a big time Dem donor.

Having said that, I don't think either office is biased. And the US Att'y may be looking at different things.

Anonymous said...

Bernie, you are exactly right. And if there was any wrongdoing found in the civil court, and Morganelli felt that his office could not investigate due to a conflict of interest because of Karoly's role in the democratic party, then I am sure he would have asked the AGs office to investigate.

I guess there is no need now, though.

Karoly has certainly ruffled enough feathers over the years. This may be about more than just the Wills, too. Karoly does have that thing up in Monroe County hanging over his head, too.

Anonymous said...

Suely one can't accuse Atty General Gonzelez of political doings. If he was so inclined Sandy Berger would be in jail for stealing, hiding and destroying sensitive government documents that would have been critical to the vaunted 911 Commission. Funny how Democrats don't seem to care that their sainted 911 Commission was screwed out of this information. Just imagine if Condi Rice had been caught stealing Archives douments.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Anon 11:21!

Sandy Berger was prosecuted for knowingly removing records from the National Archives. He pleaded guilty in 2005 to criminal charges, performed 100 hours of community service and paid a $50,000 fine. The 9/11 commission made clear it received all the documents sought. He committed a crime and was charged.