Michael Savona Three years ago, Lower Southampton supervisors learned their then-township solicitor, Michael Savona, could not oversee township business involving a Warminster developer, a longtime client of the attorney’s law firm.
So, the board did what many others across the state routinely do in such situations: It appointed an outside attorney to handle the matters that posed a conflict of interest for Savona.
But what happened next wasn’t routine, according to legal ethics attorneys.
Savona remained involved in three County Builders land use projects in 2014 and 2015, according to emails and other documents obtained through a Right-to-Know request by this news organization as part of its ongoing investigation related to the federal Lower Southampton corruption case.
According to the emails and documents, Savona reviewed and prepared documents for the township work that the conflict attorney Robert P. Hoopes was hired to handle. Savona was also included as a recipient on emails where the three County Builder projects were discussed by others including Lower Southampton administrators and consultants, as well as another Eastburn and Gray attorney representing County Builders Inc. in its Lower Southampton land use proposals in 2014 and 2015.
The revelation about Savona’s continued involvement with County Builders Inc. — despite a publicly acknowledged conflict of interest with the Warminster developer — comes after new allegations of influence peddling involving three former Lower Southampton public officials as outlined in the latest superseding grand jury indictment released Dec. 5.
Hoopes, 70, of Doylestown, is one of those former public officials facing federal charges including witness tampering, bribery, extortion and money laundering. After serving as conflict attorney, Lower Southampton supervisors unanimously hired Hoopes as the township’s first Public Safety Director, a position he held for 11 months before he was terminated in January.
Savona resigned from Eastburn and Gray at the law firm’s request Wednesday, according to a written statement the firm emailed to this news organization Wednesday evening. Three of at least four Bucks and Montgomery county municipalities where Savona was township solicitor cut ties with him Thursday.
According to the Eastburn and Gray statement, Savona — who has not been criminally charged in the Lower Southampton probe — was the “subject” of an investigation related to the alleged criminal conduct of “certain elected officials” in a municipality he previously represented. “Mr. Savona assured Eastburn and Gray that he was not involved and had not done anything wrong. Unfortunately, Eastburn and Gray believes as of today (Dec. 6, 2017) that this misrepresentation is inaccurate,” according to the statement.
Before he resigned from Eastburn and Gray, Savona declined an interview request involving work he did while Hoopes was conflict attorney for County Builders Inc. and he did not respond to a list of emailed questions including if the supervisors obtained an informed consent waiver for any phase of representation involving County Builders. He also didn’t respond to follow up phone calls and emails seeking an interview.
Attorney Richard Sheppard, who is representing Savona, declined comment Thursday, citing ongoing federal probe of alleged corruption among former Lower Southampton public officials. He added his client has been cooperating with investigators.
Neither Savona nor his law firm, Eastburn and Gray, a prominent Doylestown firm, submitted bills for legal services involving County Builders projects in 2014 or 2015, according to a review of billing statements requested under the Right to Know Act.
This news organization was unsuccessful in multiple attempts through voice mail messages and email to Hoopes and his defense attorney, as well as Kevin Reilly, a vice-president for County Builders Inc., a longtime client of Eastburn and Gray.
Lower Southampton Supervisors Chairman Keith Wesley said in an email response to questions from this news organization that he was not aware of an informed consent waiver with County Builders. A review of supervisor meeting minutes for 2014 available online do not show public discussion or vote on a conflict waiver for Savona involving County Builders.
“We were not informed of any need for such a waiver,” Westley wrote. “I can say there was no such agreement in place nor was there a requirement for the township to call for one. I would think that conflict counsel worked on any conflict files.” When government boards are faced with conflict situations involving legal representatives, it’s often resolved by either appointing a conflict attorney or obtaining the informed consent waiver, said Jennifer Ellis, a Pennsylvania attorney specializing in legal ethics who also represents attorneys who need ethical assistance.
Typically, boards won’t do both, she said.
“Why spend the money on conflict counsel just to waive it?” Ellis said.
Absent an informed consent waiver, Savona “should not have been involved on either side” of the applications after the conflict counsel was hired, and his law office should have taken steps to make sure Savona was kept out-of-the-loop, Ellis said.- ICYMI: According to the emails and documents, then-township solicitor Michael Savona reviewed and prepared documents for the #LowerSouthampton work that the conflict attorney Robert P. Hoopes was hired to handle. bit.ly/2khvFNx
- Need for conflict attorneyAt a Sept. 23, 2014, supervisors meeting, where Hoopes was hired as conflict counsel, Savona gave as the reason the board needed a conflict attorney is that his law firm has long represented County Builders Inc. “so he would have a conflict participating in those applications before the board,” according to the board meeting minutes.
At the time, County Builders had at least three projects in the planning stage; supervisors later approved all the projects. ‒ Emerald Pointe, a 32-unit townhouse development in the 500 block of Old Street Road, received preliminary and final plan approval Nov. 12, 2014.
‒ Shoppes at Emerald Walk, a controversial commercial development plan including a Wawa at Street and Philmont Avenue, received final plan approval Feb. 25, 2015.
‒ 531 W. Street Road, a 48-unit townhouse development near Westview Avenue, received preliminary and final plan approval Aug. 12, 2015.
Over the next 11 months, Hoopes, who has known experience in civil and criminal defense law, billed for 17.8 hours at $350 an hour for his work on the three projects, according to copies of invoices and other documents obtained through a Right-to-Know request. County Builders Inc. paid Hoopes $6,264 from its project escrow funds, which is standard practice for municipal professional services involving land use applications, Township Manager John McMenamin said.
Legal bills that Hoopes submitted for his County Builders Inc. work show most of the hours he billed — 13.8 hours — involved meetings with township administrators, County Builders representatives and “prep and attend” supervisor meetings for the projects.
Hoopes billed County Builders only three times for paperwork related to the projects, according to his legal bills. They include $175 for 50-minutes of work preparing a letter for conditional sign approval for Emerald Walk.
Neither Savona nor his law firm, Eastburn and Gray, submitted bills to Lower Southampton for legal services involving County Builders Inc. development projects in 2014 or 2015, according to a review of legal bill statements and escrow documents requested under the Right to Know Act. - Email trailBut emails obtained by this news organization show that Savona continued working on all three projects and he also prepared documents including developer’s agreements, security agreements and construction escrow estimates, work that Hoopes should have done as conflict counsel, according to municipal attorneys interviewed.
It is unknown if Savona’s continued involvement had an impact on the supervisors’ decisions involving the development plans. No current or former supervisors received or were mentioned in emails obtained by this news organization involving Savona, Hoopes, and County Builders Inc. projects.
Savona was mentioned in emails involving County Builders project such as aDec. 8, 2014 email involving the Emerald Walk commercial development plan. In the email, County Builders’ Vice President Reilly asked his attorney John VanLuvanee if the plans should be put on the January 2015 planning commission agenda for final approval.
“I mentioned to Mike Savona and he said he would discuss with you as well,” Reilly wrote in the email.
Savona was also frequently copied on emails including those Hoopes received. Reilly sent Hoopes and Lower Southampton Township Engineer John Genovesi on March 4, 2015 under the subject line: Emerald Walk Commercial escrow and developer’s agreements.
In the body of the email, Reilly wrote: “Mike/Bob can you please prepare developer’s agreements for this project?” Five days later, on March 9, 2015, in an email Reilly asked Hoopes: “How are you making out with the approval letter for Emerald Walk Commercial.” Savona was copied on the email.
Two days later, on March 11, 2015, Savona wrote to Reilly asking if the public improvements estimate been approved. “We need that for the (developer’s) agreements.” Hoopes was copied on the email.
According to his legal bills, Hoopes billed County Builders $770 for 2.2 hours on March 9, 2015 for “prep approval letter.”On April 13, 2015, Savona wrote to Reilly and Genovesi about the construction escrow estimates for the Shoppes at Emerald Walk. Hoopes’ name was not among those sent the email.
“Kevin, attached you will find the proposed Site Development Agreement, Site Improvement Security Agreement and Storm Water Operations and Maintenance Agreement for Phase II of Emerald Walk, along with the approved April 9, 2015 escrow tabulation,” Savona wrote in the April 13, 2015 email. ″...These agreements are ready for signature.”Four days later, on April 17, 2015, Reilly mentioned Savona in an email to Genovesi about the Emerald Pointe Construction escrow: “I would like to ask Mike Savona to prepare the developer’s agreements after you have approved the escrow.”A copy of an undated 2015 site development agreement for Emerald Pointe states it was prepared by “Michael Savona, Eastburn and Gray” and it also requests the document be recorded with the county and returned to Savona. Hoopes’ name also did not appear on the recipient list for an email that Savona wrote to Lower Southampton Director of Licenses and Inspections Carol Drioli about the 531 W. Street Road project on Aug. 24, 2015, 12 days after the board approved the plans.
“Attached is a draft approval letter for 531 West Street Road for Bob Hoopes’ signature. Let me know if you have any questions once you review it,”Savona wrote in the email.
An email chain on the West Street Road approval letter continued the next day — Aug. 25, 2015 — between Savona, Reilly, Drioli and VanLuvanee. Hoopes’ email was not included in the exchange.
Savona wrote to Drioli telling her that the updated review letter that he prepared was attached; VanLuvanee responded to Savona and Drioli that he had suggested changes to the approval letter. Later, that day, Savona wrote to Drioli and VanLuvanee that he incorporated the changes into the final letter, which was attached.
“Please forward to Bob for signature,” Savona added in the email.Hours later, Reilly offered Savona his “redlined comments” for the final letter, according to an email. Almost immediately, Savona responded in an email:“Final version is attached. Please send to Bob.”Hoopes charged $874 for 2.4 hours of work on the 531 W. Street Road project done on Aug. 25 and 26, 2015, according to his billing statement. Under description of the work, he wrote, “Met with Carol to go over points for letter”and “prep letter and email to all concerned.” - Rules of conduct
- Under the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, an attorney with a conflict can continue representing a client only if an informed consent waiver is obtained from both clients, according to multiple attorneys specializing legal ethics and professional conduct.
- “Our legal ethics rules are meant to protect the public from malfeasance on the part of lawyers. The conflict rule exists to protect clients from a lawyer taking on a client who is in an adverse position to an already existing client, or from the lawyer taking on a client with whom he has an adverse position,” said Ellis, a Pennsylvania attorney specializing in legal ethics who also represents attorneys who need ethical assistance.
Attorneys found to have violated the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct face potential consequences that range from a private written admonishment up to suspension and disbarment.
Former staff writer Tyler Miles contributed to this story.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Emails: Former Lower Southampton solicitor worked on development projects after conflict counsel hired
Posted Dec. 10, 2017
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