Northampton County DA John Morganelli should be proud of his son, Chris, who is in the web design biz. But should a DA be offering "discount deals" to Northampton County law firms that hire his son? That's what John has done, in an blanket email to numerous members of the bar. "My son Chris Morganelli has become a leading web design and marketing person in the LV. His business Chris Morganelli Designs, CMd at www.cmorganellidesigns.com is now a leading company with clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Chris does work for St.Lukes Hospital too.
"He is now offering discount deals for Northampton County law firms to do a makeover of existing web sites and new custom designed sites. Each project is individually designed. He also will connect you with the most current social media sites in order to market your firm. Expensive yellow pages are now out. Chris will get you where you need to be at half the cost of current design companies.
"Chris has a BS degree in Computer Science. Check out his work and his clients at www.cmorganellidesigns.com . Chris can be reached at 610xxxxxxx."Let's say you're a defense lawyer and have a plea arrangement or ARD application. The DA has a lot to say about both. Many lawyers are going to feel undue pressure to use Chris.
On the other hand, John has every right to be proud of his son and want him to do well, and I see no violation of the rules of professional responsibility.
What do you think? Good business or tacky?
29 comments:
I think it would be silly for anyone to think that DA Morganelli would check out every attorney or case before him to see if they used his son for their website design before making a determination on a case.
I think he is just helping his son out, providing colleagues with the opportunity to use his son's business and help them get a good deal.
I don't see anything wrong with it really.
I don't think it;s unethical, but it bothers me.
You are scum O'Hare. Why not ask these hypothetical questions about, lets see, everything Ron Angle does. You are a disgusting hypocritical bastard.
I'm not being hypothetical. This is going on.
Typical no bounderies Morganelli
most everything the da and other norco dems do is tacky, slimey and of course, self serving. One has to wonder if they inbreed.
This is the dumbest article ever. Here you are splitting hairs about something Morganeli does that "bothers" you, but you fail to criticize a fat buffoon who spearheaded the most rediculous vote in council history by "not approving" a binding arbitrators contract. Sure, let's not talk about that...
Can't believe Morganelli would do this! He above all knows better.
Can't believe Morganelli would do this! He above all knows better.
It's borderline unethical and typical of this DA. The appearance of impropriety would keep most honorable people from promoting this way. Morganelli seems to wear the appearance of impropriety like a badge of honor in his stagnant pond of local politics. He's brazen. Remember, one of his offspring was knee-deep in a sleazy political email campaign a few years back. The apple doesn't fall far from the rotten tree.
that really doesn't bother me it sounds to me like he's just helping his son get his buisness off the ground...email is helpful in some instance's you can reach alot of people at once and save on postage ...
The websites and design are crap, he's a wannabe web designer.
Much better and more professional LV based companies to choose from!
The unwritten, unspoken flip side of this of course, is:
And if you don't use my son's services...
Morganelli should apoologize for what he doing. Praise your kid at a cocktail party. This has to be stepping all over a multitude of regulations
I think politics in general is taking over our society. Look at the stop signs on his road alone, are they legal? One right in front of his house at a three way intersection of a side street when we have 4 way intersections going into community centers that can't have stop signs. Ask PennDot if it is legal. The heart for service is gone, the days of Patriots are gone, and everything in life is who you know.
Bernie tells it like it is for all of you out there that just want to call him names. It is never easy going against the grain, especially when the grain is the truth!
"you fail to criticize a fat buffoon who spearheaded the most rediculous vote in council history by "not approving" a binding arbitrators contract."
I disagreed but understand. No Council member should be forced to vote for something against his will, and there is no question our arbitration system needs serious revision. I frankly do not think it should have been presented for a vote, but having done so, I respect Angle for refusing to be bullied. If that makes him a buffoon, we could use a few more.
"Morganelli should apoologize for what he doing. Praise your kid at a cocktail party. This has to be stepping all over a multitude of regulations"
I looked and don't see any regulations that John violated. Plus, he should be proud of his son. But I still think this is a bad idea bc he occupies an uneven position with the persons he solicits.
Bernie,
Hate to disagree with you on this one, but I see nothing wrong with it. In our current environment people must do all that they can to compete and get a business off the ground. If that means accepting help from influential sources, I say go for it.
If John was not the DA, he would have done this anyway. It may look like there is impropriety on the outside, but thats the way it is. Sometimes we have to look past our socioeconomic norms and accepted principles, and do what we can to succeed. Web design is a saturated market, and any help he gets is better than none. Now if his son was setting up a booth at the courthouse, I'd say different.
Maybe he can do a website for me. I dont have one at the moment.
Re: Anonymous at 10:36 am -- "politics is taking over all of our lives." In spades! It is not even so much politics as a return to a cosa nostra mentality, the village system, in place of a civil society based on the rule of law.
I think the combination of ignorance wth lack of character that has become the hallmark of our culture is indeed creeping into every area. Take condominiums -- please. Another creature of the '80's mania for bowing to special interests and to hell with the ordinary individual -- talk about "unelected" self-appointed people knowing what is best for everybody, talk about lack of ethical and fiduciary awareness...have not had an election in years, the long-established quarterly meetings of the residents replaced by one meeting a year, no agendas prepared and distributed even for that one meeting, people told it is "not important" to attend, sothat even the putative secretary does not show up, just calls in to the Big Chjeese, who tells her what went on at the meeting, the same little clique governs according to their dream of a high- end paradise in a middle-class neighborhood on its way down, if it is going anywhere...Talk about organizing an LLC lawn care service for a 17-year old kid, who happens to be the son of the 'president" of the condo and then hiring him to do all kinds of work, in addition to the regular grass-cutting...talk about no controlling authority at the state levelto turn to, talk about 3 out of 14 units absentee landlords, three more inhabited by elderly persons, and three more inhabited by the clique who took over, with the few others combining apathy, ignorance, and fear so that nothing is said...just everyday life in Pennsylvania, USA these days. This is the stop sign issue on steroids. PS. I sorta remember the street had been turned into a "traffic calming zone" for a while, where the stop signs still reign at the corner you mention.
John is okay and I am sure did not intentionally offend anyone with touting his son's business.
If you want to look for sleeze go no further than Bethlehem's City Hall under the dictatorship of sleezy Jonny C.
anon 12:59 - aided by the inept union loving, rubber stamping, let me protect myself and my musicmess tickets council. not a leader among them - most corrupt administration and council in history
Touting your kid is fine and ethical. Where this steps over the ethical line, in my opinion, is the offer of "discount deals for Northampton County law firms," many if not all who likely will have to deal with John Morganelli in a legal capacity at some point in the future.
I think of this in the same way I look at political contributions to candidates for District Attorney and Judge positions by lawyers. They contribute because they do not want ramifications on the back-end of not contributing.
Just as Morganelli surely is consciously or unconsciously influenced in his decision making by who has and has not contributed to his election campaigns, he surely will be influenced by who gives his kid some business.
And if you go to the website, please take note that the biggest political hack lawyers in the county - Broughal and DeVito -have already signed up. Surely being the first to take advantage will win them some points.
every pol in norco is a whore - why should the da be less?
Bernie, It looks like Mr.Morganelli made the offer you can't refuse
It's not appropriate because it opens up this very speculative conversation. A DA should know better.
VOR
Hate to say it but maybe this guy's been in office too long. Is he becoming arrogant? Any decision that results in legitimate concerns about favoritism is fair game for questioning.
" and there is no question our arbitration system needs serious revision."
What we have IS the revision. I think then, the better option is to just walk off the job and strike. Leaving the courthouse unmanned, and 1000's of criminals unsupervised.
What Angle did was illegal, not open for discussion or "understanding".
Nonsense. I'd like to see any judge hold him in contempt for refusing to vote for an arbitration award shoved down his throat. The reality is there is no need to seek Council's assent.
And the whole system needs to be reformed.
This is typical for Morganelli. This email followed one asking for money towards his re-election campaign. He is running un-opposed so why does he need so much money? Likley he'll run again for a fourth failed attempt to be Pennsylvania Attorney General. This is the same reason why he still has part-time DA's. They give him money. Morganelli is a sleazy little thug.
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