Petey Callahan Bilks OC Catholics But Good

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Posted by Gustavo Arellano in Ex Cathedra

February 21, 2008 1:00 PM

Permalink | Comments (12)

It's been a rough half-year for Peter Callahan of the Tustin law firm Callahan, McCune & Willis, mostly because of his big mouth. The head lawyer for the Catholic Diocese of Orange sex-abuse scandal unwittingly revealed in September the sealed amount Bishop Tod D. Brown gave to a statutory rapist, barked at a sex-abuse survivor during a press conference, and did enough other wackiness to earn the title of one of our Scariest People late last year.

Through it all, diocesan apologists said nothing. But with Callahan's latest actions, perhaps they'll finally ask Brown to dump the guy--unless Orange County's 1.3 million Catholics like getting ripped off.

On February 15, Callahan filed a motion of opposition in Monterey County Superior Court regarding the continued fight he's waging against the law firm of Manly and Stewart. The Newport Beach attorneys want Brown to reveal the names of priests he investigated for sexual molestation while serving in the Monterey diocese during the 1980s; Callahan doesn't want that to happen and is asking the presiding judge to lay sanctions on Manly and Stewart for continuing to "harass" Brown. The amount: $11,916, what Callahan says is the amount he's billing Brown for work on this case.

Think about that, county Catholics: rather than working pro bono for Church, Callahan is asking for a big chunk of your Sunday donation plate. And the self-professed proud Catholic isn't skimping on anything. His hourly billing rate? $195, which he applies on everything from actually working on the case to the "about .8 hours to retrieve my car at the Orange County airport and drive to my office through rush hour traffic." Round-trip airfare for Petey from John Wayne Airport to Monterey? $671. Hotel where he's staying? Hyatt Regency, for $222.05 a night. Petey is even billing you guys $45 for overnight parking at John Wayne--what, Petey, have no friends to drop you off and pick you up like the rest of us schlubs?

The worst part about Callahan's billing methods is that the lawyer has obviously never heard of Travelocity.com. We found roughly the same flight Callahan stated as costing $671 (leaves OC at 4:447 pm, arrives in Monterrey around 8pm; leaves Monterrey at 12:40 pm the following day, arrives in OC at 4:45 pm) for $262 (same depart/arrive from OC to Monterrey, but a 1:20 departure from Monterrey to a 4:14 arrival at John Wayne). More importantly, Petey: ever heard of Red Roof Inn?

Comments (12)

Bob Squalonero says:
February 21, 2008 13:35

Aw c'mon Gus! Didn't you figure it out?

There's an back room agreement between the OC Diocese's law firm & the law firm defending ex-Sheriff Mike Carona.

Callahan is charging these exhorbitant amounts so that $$ will be siphoned off to those "poor" liars (excuse me, that should be "lawyers") who are working Carona's case pro bono. ;-)

Sarah says:
February 21, 2008 16:03

Scary guy.

Benedict XVI th says:
February 21, 2008 16:22

Laity, this is but a tiny fraction of the Curial daily cabal surrounding me!

You can daily read several dozen documented cases of criminal cover-upm of such FILTH, at: www.bishop-accountability.org/abusetracker, that your offentory, ABA, Peter's Pence, mission appeals, shrine donations, cemetary slush funds, ministry appeals, second collections, annual assesments, building funds, fund raisers, etc, in monies, and are going to, in the TENS OF BILLIONS of dollars thus far, with not accountability thus far, for such evil officer holders, as gay and pedophile enablers Tod Brown and Roger Mahony.

I, formerly Joseph Ratzinger, then Prelate of CDF, could never go after John Paul II's bad and unaudited blanket appointments, and now need you to stop donating any monies for any reason, so I remove these evil men, canonically censor them, place them under house arrest for life, or alternatively, irrevocably excommunicate them.

PLEASE, LAITY stop donating, and tell your family members, friends, colleagues, and associates, to do the same.

It is the only 'way' to get at these Servants of Satan.

God With God & Keep Your Wallets Zipped!

Benedict XVI th
Pontiff & Sinner

Amazing Grace! says:
February 21, 2008 18:25

JONES DAY and St. Petey….. Giving back to the world! Isn't St. Petey following the pro bono philosophies of Jones Day:

"Jones Day has had a long history of pro bono work, public service and community involvement in all the locations in which we practice and we continue to increase year after year the pro bono legal services we provide to those IN NEED (Carona collecting $200,000 plus per year as a County retiree--VERY NEEDY!).

You will see within this year's annual report more examples of this tradition of giving back (or is it MARKETING to get political payback?) to the community.

All 30 offices of the Firm now have a partner in charge of pro bono to further develop the reach of our pro bono program and to FULFILL OUR COMMITMENTS (or maybe, fulfill our MARKETING STRATEGY and NEW BUSINESS) in all our locations.

Our work has ranged from complex litigations with broad precedential impact to representations in local courts and administrative tribunals that are vital to so many NEEDY individuals (what about all those NEEDY attorneys with lots of legal malpractice insurance or maybe a SHARED legal malpractice fund, that have all counseled Mike Carona into a federal indictment?).

Among our most important recent efforts has been litigation on behalf of clients who have unfairly become caught up in the "war on terror." (Carona's War on Terrorizing his adversaries and employees?).

These cases raise compelling issues about the balance between protecting our most basic CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPALES (hopefully, former Lt. Bill Hunt reads this one!) and the executive branch's authority to declare and take unilateral action against claimed threats to our national security (Carona was definitely a threat to national security).

GO JONES DAY!!! GO ST. PETEY! Your pro bono marketing strategies may just pay off this time around… maybe you will be able to represent all of the attorneys licensed to practice law who have counseled Carona into a criminal federal indictment..... and while you are at it, since the Sheriff's Dept. shares legal advisors with the Diocese of Orange, the LA Archdiocese and the OC District Attorney, your pro bono services will turn out to be BIG BUCKS in NEW revenue.

Keep on billing to the Diocese and thank you Bishop Brown for looking over the hard earned donations that OC Catholics are providing for your attorneys. St. Petey and Jones Day together will have FREE PASSES to heaven, no questions asked!!! Especially if the teachings of decent human beings is governed by the Diocese of Orange!

More Amazing Graces! says:
February 21, 2008 20:29

Maybe the Diocese of Orange gets a percentage of all the fees charged by its politically connected lawyers.... Petey Callahan, Michael John Peffer, Maria M. Rullo, Daniel Sullivan, Albert Ballog and the crew at McCune & Harber!

Something smells!!!! Why does Mr. Molina who was prosecuted for sexual misconduct while under the supervision of the Monterey Diocese have to register as a sex offender and the Mr. Molina, the former teacher at Santa Margarita Catholic HS, who pled guilty to sexual misconduct with a minor student in 2006, is not required to register as a sex offender?

Maybe this is why St. Petey is keeping watch as far as Monterey County, and Bishop Brown pays the exhorbitant fees for travel time, lodging, with attorneys' fees, which charging devoted OC Catholics to pick up the tab. It is obvious that the criminal justice process in Monterey is very very very very very very different than here in the rich and famous Orange County, California. Monterey predators are forced to register as sex offenders but not in Orange County!!! Thank you to the Orange County District Attorney.

CONCERNS says:
February 21, 2008 21:27

Does any know if St. Petey's law firm is insured with a self-insured legal malpractice policy, MPC Insurance Ltd., a Vermont institution?

Is St. Petey's firm insured by MPC Insurance Ltd., along with other big firms that have joined forces to form their own insurance-buying cooperatives are somewhat better protected than most firms. Some of the bigger firms that participate in self insured legal malpractice are:

McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory
Morester & Forster
Jones Day

If the legal self-insured malpractice fund is being used as a legal conspiracy to deny due process of the law in court, etc., and St. Petey's firm participates with many others, then Bishop Brown needs to deal with recouping all the fees paid to date.

DENYING DUE PROCESS is not allowed here in the U.S. Would someone please call St. Petey and St. Maria Rullo Schinderle to explain the laws of the land, so that all persons will be guaranteed protections from retaliatory acts that the Diocese of Orange is notorious for.
.

kurt gladsky says:
February 22, 2008 07:00

Dear Editor, Had Cardinal Keeler and his boyfriend Monsignor Richard Woy taken my advice six years ago the Catholic clergy sex abuse showdown now playing out at Calvert Hall College in Towson Maryland would never have happened. Keeler and his scut puppy, Monsignor Richard Woy, looked at me nervously across the huge conference table at the Archdiocese of Baltimore, when Keeler asked sheepishly: "Kurt, if you were in my position what would you do? My reply: Cardinal Keeler, This is a public relations nightmare. You should place a full page ad in the Sunday Baltimore Sunpaper asking victims to come forward with a cutoff time in which they can. Only ten percent ever will, and you can't hurry the coming out process. You would look like a hero, give them all a hundred grand get down the road and be off the hook. Keeler's reply: I am not going to spend a fortune to find victims. I told Keeler: Jesus said: Shepherd my flock. Jesus didn't say: Screw my flock and cover it up for centuries." Well, hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it? Kurt Gladsky Founder: Greater Baltimore SNAP, Founder: Christian Brothers Sexual Abuse Survivors Network gladsky@aol.com, Cell 561 926 8050

Benedict XVI th says:
February 22, 2008 13:54

Parish closings, school closings, seminary closings, cemetary sales to secular ownership, archdiocese administrative closings, convent closings, pensions stolen, clerical embezzlements daily, enabling og guilty rampant to this day, university campus real estate sales, ministries hacked or closed, payrolls slashed,
shrine closings, monestary closings, vocations in the sewer, while curia continue to wallow in luxury, overlooking the reeking CESS POOL they created, as Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ's Church burns to the ground (figuratively, if not literally)!

Like The Dire Straits remake of the Thomas Fogarty song goes (yes, your Pontiff has eclectic music tastes, that my older brother tries to keep me up on, that are not religious in origin):

"Nobody here anymore, nobody's minding the store, they've all gone to another dimension, nobody here anymore..."

You know what?! BURN, BABY, BURN! Let's get back to a non curia, non professional clerical, real meaning to life and God!

Our Lord arrived here, just over 2,000 years ago, wrapped swadling rags in a livesrock stall, in the most primitive of conditions, and was killed with outcast thieves, to rise from the dead, for us all, through pure LOVE and all our salvation (minus DEVIL ENABLERS like Mahony and Brown).

Seems like a simple enough message to me? How about you?

Laity, Go With God, & Keep Your Wallets Zipped!

Benedict XVI th (Joseph Ratzinger)
Pontiff & Sinner

Gammazon says:
February 26, 2008 11:51

Shilling for Manly again? Gustavo says he's a great document diver. But he can't seem to find the documents from LA Superior Court JCCP CASE NO.4286 in which Judge Fromholtz sanctioned Manly $20,000 (chump change for a chump) for harrassing a witness.

Gustavo Arellano says:
February 26, 2008 12:01

Lovely evasion, Gammazon! Care to criticize my post in a different, relevant matter?

Anonymous says:
February 27, 2008 13:12

so your saying Manly bilked his client $20k? Is that your comparison Gammazon? Or are you only pointing out the fact that Manly takes his hits like a professional, and pays out of his own pocket when he has offened.

Gammazon says:
February 27, 2008 13:57

"Taking hits like a professional"? Uh, sanctions of that amount are exceedingly rare. So rare that the conduct that produces them is referred to the State Bar for review as unprofessional conduct. Get a clue.

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