FLORIDA — Todd Macaluso, ex-attorney for Casey Anthony in a notorious murder case, has recently been disbarred as an attorney and booked into jail for seeking to transport five kilograms of cocaine and distribute it.
Macaluso was arrested on Nov. 14 in Haiti on charges for conspiring with two other men regarding the transportation and eventual distribution of the drug. The men were to load a privately registered U.S. plane that Macaluso was scheduled to be the pilot.
The plane was set to fly to Haiti, pick up the cocaine and distribute it in the U.S.
The three men together call themselves "Mateo," according to the case documents. The two others were Carlos Vasquez and Humberto Contreras.
Macaluso was taken by Haiti police, then transferred to New York. The New York judge did not allow him to post bond.
Additionally, Macaluso has since been disbarred as an active attorney. On Nov. 18 The State Bar Association of California prohibited him from practicing law. Prior to being disbarred, he was put under ineligibility status on Oct. 5. This was not the only instance when Macaluso was put on probation from his practice. Twice before, once in July and April of 2010, he was put on probation within the association.
Andrew Moses with Moses and Rooth, Attorneys at Law, told the Florida Record, "Based upon my experience I would suspect that if convicted that Mr. Macaluso would be doing a fair amount of prison time," he said. "A quick calculation of his federal sentencing guidelines puts him in the neighborhood of 121 to 151 months of prison."
Moses added there will be mandatory minimum punishments associated with the crime based upon the allegations and the weight of the drugs.
W.F. Casey Ebsary Jr., attorney at Central Law, told the Florida Record the minimum mandatory sentence could be 10 years.
Ebsary said anytime a lawyer is indicted it's automatically a high-profile case, regardless of Macaluso's background with the sensational Anthony case. "An indictment of an attorney is a high-profile case, simply because the defendant is an officer of the court," he said.
Macaluso has also been indicted by the United States District Court in Eastern New York. He had been practicing law since he was admitted into the State Bar Association of California in 1988 and had his own law firm, Macaluso and Associates in San Diego, California.
This is not the first time Macaluso has been tied to the country of Haiti. His "About Me" entry on his webpage said, "He [Macaluso] is willing to use his helicopter and plane to assist in relief efforts when an emergency situation occurs. Todd Macaluso did just that when Haiti was devastated by an earthquake."
In addition to helping out Haiti citizens after their disastrous earthquake, Macaluso devoted much of his time to the Haitian Relief Effort.
Macaluso is also a "devoted pilot who holds many licenses including: airline transport pilot, jet pilot, fighter jet pilot, and helicopter pilot." Additionally, "Todd Macaluso is also a member of the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association."