Michael XXXXXXXX is unlawful and unethical. He was paid $7500 to handle a DUI case, I have the following information: copy of cashed check, he never called, never showed up for court, I have the court minutes showing he was not present, I was told that the court should have fined him. He never had me sign a retainer, when I went in to try to collect the monies with no hard feelings as he seemed to busy to handle case, he became angry and said he would falsify documents so he would not have to return money. I went to the high power attorney and advised him of his associates wrong doing. I also mentioned that there were 4 reviews on the internet with the same senario. The attorney recommended I have my friend go in and talk to him as she is very business savy. He cancelled the appointment with her and offered to refund the money to maker of the check. However the maker of the check was not the client nor was it his money. Several people put money in and he wrote the check and was now out of the picture. So that 3rd party check would have been invalid, it doesn't matter who wrote the check, the receipt of the check indicates payment for the client. The attorney called the maker of the check and asked him to send an e-mail saying he had not been reimbursed for the clients case, which he did. My friend left a voicemail for the attorney explaining that he just broke the attorney and client confidential agreement. She explained that the maker of the check was no longer in the picture, we wanted the money refunded to the client, not to mention we had to hire another attorney as Mr. Molfetta never did the work. My friend and I went to his office and his secretary called him and said we were there at his office, he said he was going to the state bar and hung up on her. The secretary was clearly upset, she advised us to go to the state bar as we have all the tools to succeed and we will get back more than the 7,500. Please advise if this is true, we have all documentation to support all the above, not to mention all the trips we made to the court house and when he did not show up the case had to be post poned. This has been extreamly stressful, this man is so horrible. Does the State bar make the decision of how much he should refund if they agree?

Optional Information:
State/Country relating to question: California

Already Tried:
Meeting with the attorney Having the new attorney try to reason with him. Going to the Senior Partner as my friend knows him personally. We just wanted the money back, it was his secretary that said take him to the state bar, you will get more than 7500 and he will have to pay for the other attorney, all your trips to court and all the paid and suffering of this.