Attorney Charles Polk rushed to former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft’s side and testified on his behalf during his contentious Senate confirmation hearings in early 2001.
Now, Polk will learn if the retired Ashcroft will return the favor and stand up for him following his indictment by a federal grand jury on 23 felony counts.
The litany of allegations includes bank, wire, and mail fraud, money laundering, theft of money from an organization receiving federal money, interstate transportation of stolen money and tax evasion.
“The charges against Mr. Polk reflect a total disregard for the law and his position of trust. A dishonest attorney who will steal from his own clients must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” U.S. Attorney James G. Martin said in a written release.
“Our office will do everything within our power to ensure that such attorneys are never able to practice law again.”
Polk is charged with felony tax evasion for his failure to file tax returns for the tax years 1998 through and including 2002. During this time, according to the indictment, he earned more than $1.7 million of taxable income. He failed to file a tax return in each of those five years and concealed his income for the purpose of evading taxes totaling approximately $470,000 for the five-year period.
The indictment also alleges that Polk obtained money illegally through his representation of Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and others. Specifically, as to his employment as an attorney for MSD during the year 2000, the indictment alleges that through various schemes Polk illegally received approximately $150,000 from MSD by submitting false and inflated invoices to MSD and then converting the payments for the fraudulent invoices to his own use. During the time of the alleged fraud, Polk was an employee of the Pittsburgh law firm of Doepken, Keevican and Weiss, P.C. The indictment alleges as part of the scheme he also concealed the fraudulently obtained payments from his law firm.
Polk told the St. Louis American on two different occasions that allegations that he acted in an unlawful or untrustworthy way were rooted in his being a Republican. He said there was an active attempt to slander then-MSD Director Willie Horton and himself because they are successful black men.
“(They) are out to get me,” he said in 2001.
Polk’s name also recently appeared in the American. In its March 3 edition, realtor David Campbell credits Polk for giving his business, Asset Realty, “sound advice and counsel for several years.”
The federal indictment alleges that Polk’s unlawful behavior continued for several years.
It alleges that he stole money from MSD when MSD overpaid a consulting and engineering firm, Madison and Madison of Detroit, by approximately $45,000.
The indictment alleges that Madison and Madison wrote a check to Polk for the amount of overpayment. This money, along with a $20,000 cashier’s check, were deposited into an account controlled by Polk in Compass Bank, New Bedford, Mass., and never returned to MSD or his law firm.
The indictment further alleges that Polk, while employed at various law firms in the St. Louis area, stole money he received from clients which should have been forwarded to the specific law firms. In particular, the indictment alleges that he received money from Faith United Church of the Living God totaling $10,203. This money was never reported to his law firm, Husch & Eppenberger.
The indictment also alleges that Polk received $382,000 in the year 2002 from a resident of Quincy, Ill., who was a client of another law firm, Lathrop & Gage, who had an office in St. Louis. This money was given to Polk as an investment in Polk’s attempt to have legislation passed joining the Oklahoma City bombing victims and their families with the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York or the filing of a class action lawsuit on their behalf. The indictment alleges that all of these monies were used for Polk’s personal use and without the knowledge of Lathrop & Gage and the individual who financed this possible venture.