Will do jail time, says district attorney
By Arnold G. York/Publisher
Malibu attorney Sam Birenbaum, who has been involved in an ongoing series of legal problems over the last few years, on Monday pled no contest to two felony counts of grand theft for allegedly stealing more than $120,000 from clients.
The case was set for jury trial this week and Los Angles Superior Court Judge William F. Fahey refused to delay it or to let Birenbaum change lawyers, as he’s done several times in the past. The matter is now continued for sentencing to Feb 18. 2003.
In a statement given to the Daily Journal, Deputy District Attorney William Penzin, who prosecuted Birenbaum, said if Birenbaum repays the victims, he will serve one year in the county jail. But if he doesn’t make the restitution, he will receive a sentence of four years and eight months in state prison.
Even if Birenbaum were to make the restitution, he still has other pending legal problems. The California State Bar has suspended Birenbaum from practicing law and is due to decide in January 2003 whether it will permanently disbar him. Typically, grand theft is considered a crime of moral turpitude in disbarment proceedings.
There is also another pending misdemeanor case in Beverly Hills in which Birenbaum and his wife, Nidia, are being prosecuted by the City of Malibu for alleged numerous code violations for building unpermitted structures on the couple’s Malibu Road home. The city is seeking the property be brought up to code.