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sooooo did engels spend tens of thousands on legal fees or....a Million. asking for a friend

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I don't know, Maybe John D'Arco will tell me what the going rates for scorched earth divorce are in The Loop nowadays.

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you trying to date that guy or what big fella?

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Nah. I hear he's a bore. Spends too much time on the golf course and doesn't service the accounts properly.

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Presumably Mr. Luthmann will delete this comment because despite touting the importance of free speech, he does not like these inconvenient truths. But he cannot hide from them.

What is omitted from this bang up journalism (cut and pasting from a pro se motion) is that these tales are 6 years old, hardly an "emergency." Mr. Engels had the opportunity to put the facts in front of Judge Loza and have her make a ruling. Instead, on the day of trial, he entered into an AGREED order 5 months ago giving Ms. Castro sole custody and virtually all of the parenting time. Why would he do this if he felt she was so dangerous? Cue the conspiracy theorists ... because he couldn't afford it! Because the fix was in! Because blah blah blah. He had the money to take it to the day of trial, but then suddenly couldn't afford it? I've got a bridge to sell you. His lies don't make any sense; he knew it, the judges know it, the GAL knows it.

As for the "pharmacologist" i.e. fake doctor, putting aside his age (10000 years old), no one asked him to opine on whether or not either parent was "fit" to parent. So, if he did, who cares? His job was narrow and discreet. It was not to say a word about fitness to parent. Obviously there's no mention of the actual expert in the case who testified that this "pharmacologist" was unfit to testify as a pharmacologist and had no credentials, training, or education to do so. The actual expert that was appointed to opine on fitness to parent - ya, that one...said mom should have sole custody and be the primary parent. Maybe he too was corrupt? Man, there's either a lot of corruption going on, or there is none and this guy is just bananas. It is quite clear which it is.

Finally, Mr. Luthmann has some nerve (with a pinch of stupidity). For a guy who begged the bar not to disbar him by claiming he committed crimes because he was an undiagnosed psychotic drug addict doing cocaine daily and guzzling 1.75 liters of scotch DAILY, he should be hiding his fat self under a rock never to be heard from again.

Facts.

https://www.silive.com/crime-safety/2021/08/trial-by-combat-lawyer-richard-luthmann-released-from-federal-custody.html

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Hi there. Whenever you respond to an argument by trying to shoot the messenger, you admit that you just lost the argument, Ricky. Personal attacks on Mr. Luthmann are lower than whale shit.

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Why would you engage in that being a young lawyer with incredible earnings potential ? Just curious what the thought process was.

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Oct 13·edited Oct 13Author

I didn't. There was no mafia. It was a political hit job. Payback from the Democratic Party for opposing Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon and my helping Trump in 2016. I was the NYS Reform Party Law Chair and we had our own ballot line. We were tilting elections and messing with the establishment money, so I had to go. It was some of the earliest Law-Fare.

https://nypost.com/2016/11/02/im-a-trump-supporter-and-nbcs-goon-squad-beat-me-up/

And I'd hate to say it, I could do a lot with the skills I have, unbridled by a "profession-herd." Some of the stories are the very tip of the iceberg. I don't have to worry about getting invited to dinner or socializing with these assholes.

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I highly doubt anyone is 10,000 years old. I believe this is an exaggeration. And you failed to mention how hot that woman is. I would award custody to her on that basis alone.

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she is indeed

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Like it or not, she is running a state licensed business. While I do not approve of any drugs, many people think marijuana is no worse than having a drink. So the father’s clam here truly is absurd. She’s not doing crack or cocaine. Besides she’s hot as hell. The court acted appropriately here. While it could and maybe should be considered in a custody determination, absolutely nothing here cries out as an emergency. The father did himself a disservice with this motion in terms of getting custody.

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True, her business is legal. But just because you're a bartender, it doesn't mean you can pick your kids up from school drunk. Plus, the allegations in the filed papers - cocaine and kétamine - weren't denied.

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Being "hot as hell" is being used as a weapon, and Ms. Castro is, in fact, using cocaine, and a medicine cabinet full of other drugs acquired illegally. She has repeatedly tested positive for cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, and even ketamine, a horse tranquilizer. The court documents are public record. I've been doing a lot of reading. "The Pams" (Judge Pamela Loza and the GAL she consistently appoints, Attorney Pamela Kuzniar) have been ignoring mass evidence of Ms. Castro's 24/7 illegal drug abuse, resulting violent behavior, and its affect on the parties' 11-year-old daughter.

Rumor has it that "The Pams" are a lesbian couple who generally hate men, and that Ms. Castro has provided services to both of them, having previously worked for "Five Star Escorts." Let's be clear. Ms. Castro is a professional. She manipulates older men, as well as any women who are sexually attracted to her. She gets whatever she wants from them. If they are no longer useful to her, she dumps them.

Ms. Castro, after dumping Mr. Engels, has bounced back and forth like a pinball between two principal boyfriends: Dr. Jon Spero, who allowed her to use his Rx pad and DEA ID number to write herself prescriptions for drugs (until his license was revoked for it and he was dumped by Ms. Castro, since he was no longer useful), and Attorney Ross Morreale, a major player in the legalized cannabis industry in Illinois, who finances her drug abuse and her attorneys at the Beermann law group.

Mr. Engels has all his ducks in a row, accumulating a mountain of video and documentary evidence, but he can no longer afford an attorney. He's been driven to the brink of bankruptcy by "The Pams," who have forced him to pay for every nickel spent on this case: both Ms. Castro's attorneys and his own (at roughly $10 per minute), GAL Kuzniar herself (also roughly $10 a minute) and dozens of drug tests (which Mr. Engels routinely passes, and Ms. Castro has passed only once, because she was strapped down and going through withdrawal, failing all the rest). Mr. Engels has spent over $1 million on this case.

This case even has a court-appointed pharmacologist. I've been working Illinois family law cases for 35 years. And this is the first time I've ever heard of one of those. Dr. O'Donnell turned in a report saying that due to these persistently failed drug tests and her erratic behavior, Ms. Castro is "unfit to parent." GAL Kuzniar, Judge Loza, and the Beermann law group have worked as a team to prevent Dr. O'Donnell's testimony from being heard, and his report from being officially entered into evidence, but continue to force Mr. Engels to pay for all that as well.

I've never seen anything like it. This case is screaming for a divorce attorney to step up on a pro bono basis and help Mr. Engels. I'm forced to stay out of it due to my commitments or I'd do it myself. This case is also screaming for attention by the Judicial Review Board and the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. Judge Loza, GAL Kuzniar and every lawyer Ms. Castro has ever had deserve to be thoroughly investigated.

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I detect some hyperbole here. But the issue is why hasn’t there been a trial. You can’t blame the judge if the guy agreed to share custody recently. She didn’t do all this stuff overnight. I’m very suspicious whenever these people go public with their side of the story when a judge decides against them. And this is just a motion not a final decision after trial.

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Clearly, with "The Pams" in charge of this case, there was no way Mr. Engels was going to get a fair trial. Hyperbole is appropriate because as I said, after 35 years in family law, this is the worst case I've ever seen. It's appalling. Now that he has a new judge, here's hoping that a fair trial on the merits, with all the cards face up on the table, will produce a good result for this child. And maybe Ms. Castro will see the light, spend some time in rehab, get medication for her mental illness, and get serious about recovery and being a good Mom. I hope for the best for all. But with Ms. Castro, I'm prepared for the worst.

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I think the fact that he voluntarily gave her custody just a few months ago is going to be very difficult to overcome. If the mother is as bad as he says, she will get arrested and eventually lose custody eventually.

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A woman that manipulates older men. That’s a first.

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That doesn't make it right, Mr. Farrell. Nor does it make Ms. Castro a good role model for her daughter. But Judge Loza and GAL Kuzniar seem determined to ignore that until hell freezes over. Gosh, I wonder why.

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No one is ideal. By all accounts, including his, she is the better parent. His concern is more about retaliation than his child. He had the opportunity to express whatever concerns he had about her from eons ago and he chose not to discuss it. Now a few months later he wants to bash the mother in a public forum because he had no legal case in court.

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This is criminal impersonation, I believe by BEERMANN LLP and others:

https://luthmann.substack.com/p/law-firm-from-hell-beermann-llp-accused

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So you don’t like him?

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RemovedOct 13·edited Oct 13
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thank you.

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RemovedOct 13·edited Oct 13
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I always say there's 2 sides to a story. The vast majority of these "custody horror stories" come from women and we only hear one side.

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Mr. Farrell, the other side is capably represented and constantly exaggerated by the Beermann law firm. Read their pleadings. I already did. Ms. Castro alleges that Mr. Engels is alienating the child against her. But it seems that through her own misconduct, Ms. Castro is doing a bang-up job of that all by herself.

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But she already has custody. Do you have a link?

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Available for public viewing at the courthouse, Mr. Farrell. Just like all the other lies Beermann routinely tells on behalf of its clients.

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As mentioned, a party cannot voluntarily agree to something and then a few months later object because of what the other person did years before the agreement. It makes no sense. I see both sides of the story. He has no case whatsoever and this one sided story is distorted and twisted.

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