Phony Public Defender Gets 5 Years’ Probation
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WAMPSVILLE, N.Y. — A man who posed as a public defender for two years, deceiving his clients, his colleagues, even his wife, received five years’ probation on Friday.
Carl J. Mugglin, the acting state Supreme Court justice, said there was no need to send Stephen M. Welchons to prison as punishment. His deception had already cost him his livelihood, his health, his friends and his marriage, the judge said.
Welchons, 33, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a felony count of second-degree grand larceny and a misdemeanor count of the unauthorized practice of law. The felony charge carried a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Welchons worked as an assistant public defender in Madison County from Aug. 16, 1993, to June 8, 1995.
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