Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Indianapolis City Prosecutor Caught Doctoring Public Records

The City of Indianapolis' prosecuting attorney has admitted in a pending court case that he doctored a record of e-mail communications he exchanged with WRTV's Kara Kenney in a "moment of frustration and total lapse of judgment." Since demoted to a deputy prosecutor, Mark Pizur's actions came in a lawsuit the City brought against a former dog kennel owner, Upton's Famous Pet Training Center.

One of the issues in the lawsuit was whether Animal Care & Control officials knew some of Upton's dogs were pregnant when they seized them from the kennel last year. "At no time did Mr. Upton or his legal team notify ACC, the city or the court that any of his female dogs were pregnant and/or about to give birth prior to these events in late December 2015," Pizur wrote in an email to Call 6 Investigates' Kara Kenney. When he testified in a deposition in March, Pizur claimed he was misquoted by Kenney. A subsequent records request made by Upton's attorney revealed that Pizur had removed the statements he made to Kenney from copies of those same records he furnished to Upton's attorney in discovery.

Upton's attorney, Marshall Pinkus, is now asking the Court to dismiss the action against Upton, claiming Pizur's conduct violated his client's right to due process.
"What is known is that Mr. Pizur would rather accuse a reporter of falsely quoting him than admit his mistake; would rather accuse the media as a whole of having 'an agenda' than admit it is he who was maliciously scheming; would rather strip the Defendant of his First Amendment and Article I right to freedom of speech than admit it is he who was misleading the public; would rather accuse an attorney who has been practicing for forty years of misleading the court when it is he who was knowingly making false statements to this tribunal. Mr. Pizur's projection is unmatched."
Pizur removed himself from the case on Monday and has been demoted to deputy prosecutor. "It would be unfair and unwarranted to prejudice the City's litigation of this case and enforcement of its animal care and treatment ordinances against Defendant merely for the lapse of judgment of the undersigned counsel in this case," Pizur wrote in a responsive pleading. Pinkus sent copies of his court filing to the Marion Co. Prosecutor and the Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission according to WRTV.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Crooked lawyers in the Marion County Prosecutors' office. Is that deja vu I'm feeling? Because crooked lawyers in downtown Indianapolis seems oxymoronic, n'est pas? When I find myself yearning for the days when Carl Brizzi ran with Durham and did his thing to the reputation of Indianapolis, I can rest easy knowing that things haven't changed; there are new crooked lawyers all over the damn place, and some things will never change.

Commenters on this site love to tell us that we should move and abandon the city as it implodes in corruption and destitution; that the waters are fine in Hamilton County and you don't have to pay for parking. But I think someone should bear witness to the collapse; to record the name of the last lawyer stealing the last bit of integrity from the downtown mile. We all can't leave, you see. Just like in war torn Syria, the lucky flee. The rest go down with the ship, too old or sick or poor to run.

But I remember when lawyers, like doctors, were pillars of the community, and worked for the greater good, had fiduciary duties and ethical obligations and held themselves to a higher standard; when parents begged their children to work harder and be a professional. So its sad. Its sad to see what lawyers have become. Because we all know this isn't isolated. I've been a successful businessman a long time in this town. The lawyers here are crooked. So are the Judges. Yes, it is a very sweeping statement.

Anonymous said...

Oh the ice burgs float as the Titanic found out but most of them are not in public view. It is always interesting to watch or hear or read lawyers argue as the truth of the matter...any matter....is of little concern to them. Officers of the Court used to have a much closer tether to the Truth and mere judges would sanction those who abused truth in their courtrooms. Alas, the abuses of prosecutors in Indiana and elsewhere has long been uncaged and on the loose with the subsequent corruptions and loss of reputation of the legal profession....who are down there beneath used car salesmen and congress. A bill, removing from them the designation of "profession or professional" could be introduced with considerable popular support.

Anonymous said...


An Indianapolis attorney who is dishonest.

WHAT A SURPRISE.

Gary R. Welsh said...

The city prosecutor is a part of the corporation counsel's office, not the county prosecutor's office. He prosecutes ordinance violations, not crimes.

Anonymous said...

Pizur got his early training from Greg Hahn. What do you expect?

bjb said...

"Because crooked lawyers in downtown Indianapolis seems oxymoronic, n'est pas?"

Believe me, it is not just in city and county governance. Thankfully big changes underway @ the Ind S. Ct. to correct a very real problem there -- not much unlike the one revealed in this post.

Anonymous said...

"Commenters on this site love to tell us that we should move and abandon the city as it implodes in corruption and destitution...But I think someone should bear witness to the collapse...We all can't leave, you see. Just like in war torn Syria, the lucky flee. The rest go down with the ship, too old or sick or poor to run. "

That's such a Hoosier thing to say and believe. I'd have more respect for you if you said you were going to stay and fight a losing battle against said corruption ala Don Quixote, but you're not. Then you go on to compare yourself to a Syrian refugee who truly does have no choice. That's insulting since you have all the choice in the world, but in that typically mopey Midwestern sort of way, you would rather be a victim. Your way of thinking is why cities like Houston and Pittsburgh have reinvented themselves after experiencing horrendous downturns while cities like Detroit, Indy and St. Louis have not.

Perhaps you meant it to be satirical but I know plenty of good people here who think there's virtue in allowing themselves to be abused...in essence, exactly what you're saying. There isn't...not even a little. There's no joy in wallowing in self pity and anyone who told you otherwise didn't have your best interest at heart. Sorry if that hurts....not my intention. If that's what you want to do to yourself, fine, just don't delude yourself into thinking it's noble. There are no virgins waiting for you in heaven. Fight or flee. Those are both good choices. Letting yourself be beaten without a fight? Recording it for posterity's sake? I'm embarrassed for you.

Anonymous said...

oh wow, i just spit out little of dinner; you cite Houston as an example of a rebirth of sorts for a city? have you ever talked to a person who lives in houston? it is probably the crappiest city in america with a few small pockets of affluence. its a soul less sprawling ugly miserable shrine to incompetence. it makes cleveland look like nirvana.