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NY lawyer’s application to serve as co-counsel for Tinian Dynasty OK’d
The federal court has granted the request of Patrick J. Smith, a federal prosecutor who has been named a New York “super lawyer,” to be admitted to practice in the District Court for the CNMI and serve as one of the counsels for Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino in a criminal case.
In an order on Thursday, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona said Smith is in good standing as an active member of the New York State Bar.
Manglona granted Smith’s application for admission to represent Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investment Ltd., owner of Tinian Dynasy, in the criminal case filed against the company by the U.S. government.
Hong Kong Entertainment hired Smith to assist their counsel, Bruce Berline, in the criminal case.
Smith, who now resides in New York, is a partner with the law firm DLA Piper, a global law firm that reportedly has 4,200 lawyers in more than 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.
Smith served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. District Courts for the NMI and Guam from 2002 to 2005.
The superseding indictment charged HKE with one count of conspiracy to cause a financial institution to fail to file a currency transaction report, 155 counts of failure to file currency transaction reports, one count of failure to file a suspicious activity report, and one count of failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.
The initial indictment had charged HKE and then-VIP services manager George Que and then-casino manager Tim Blyth with only 10 charges.
