In Re Richard R. Ryder

263 F.Supp. 360, aff'd per curiam 381 F.2d 713 (4th Cir. 1967)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ryder (D) took possession of stolen money and a sawed-off shotgun knowing that the money had been stolen and the gun had been used in an armed robbery. D intended to retain the property pending his client's trial unless the government discovered it. At the start of the incident, D came to his client's house when FBI agents were present, and his client insisted that he had not robbed the bank as he had won the money in a crap game. Later that afternoon D called one of the FBI agents to see if some of the money taken from his client had been identified from the robbery. The agent indicated that several of the bills were bait money. D then conferred with his client again the next day and urged his client to tell the truth, but D did not believe his client's story. D then conferred with a fellow attorney who advised D to get the money and return it to the rightful owners. D then devised a plan to get the robbery money by getting a power of attorney to go to the bank deposit box where it had been placed, D rented another box, opened his client's box and then took the money and shotgun and transferred it to his box and then left the bank. D did talk with others in the profession about his conduct and was advised that he could not receive the property, and if he had received it, he could not retain possession of it. His client was indicted for the robbery, and a bench warrant was issued, and D represented his client at the bond hearing. The FBI got search warrants for the safety deposit boxes and found the money and the sawed-off shotgun in D's box. D was removed as an attorney for D and suspended from practice.