Guldi to Face Felony Charges
(03/26/2009) George Guldi, a former Suffolk County legislator and Westhampton Beach attorney, was among those arraigned yesterday on charges relating to a $50 million mortgage fraud case involving properties in eastern Suffolk County.
After County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota’s office executed a search warrant at Mr. Guldi’s law office on Feb. 3, it confirmed it had been investigating Mr. Guldi. Documents and other records were removed from his office.
Mr. Guldi and four others were expected to surrender yesterday afternoon in Southampton to face felony charges. Donald MacPherson, the publisher of the SoHo Journal and a part-time Westhampton Beach resident, his wife, Carrie Coakley, Ethan Ellner, a lawyer from Plainview, and Dustin Dent, a lawyer from Roslyn, are also being charged.
Mr. Guldi, who is 57, was to be arraigned on three counts of first-degree grand larceny and one count of scheme to defraud. If found guilty of the grand larceny charges, Mr. Guldi faces 81/3 to 25 years in prison, in addition to 11/3 to 4 years for the scheme to defraud charge.
Late last month, Wachovia Federal Savings Bank served Mr. Guldi with a lawsuit involving a $1.8 million mortgage given to a Nassau County dentist who allegedly bought his father’s house on Deerfield Road in Water Mill. Mr. Dent and Mr. Ellner were also listed in that suit.
Three months ago, Mr. Spota announced the formation of a mortgage fraud unit that had begun in June. Part of the Economic Crime Bureau, the unit consists of three assistant district attorneys, two detective investigators, two state police investigators, and a forensic auditor for the investigation and prosecution of such cases. Up until last month, the unit was responsible for 27 arrests and 9 indictments involving $19 million in fraud.
Mr. Guldi, a lawyer for 30 years, practices matrimonial, criminal, and real estate law. He worked his way through law school as an electrician and has been practicing since 1978. He started his career as a commercial litigator with a concentration in securities fraud cases.
He served as the Southampton Town Democratic Committee chairman in 1992 and 1993, when he was elected to the Suffolk County Legislature. In 2004, he lost his seat to Jay Schneiderman, the present county legislator for the easternmost district.
On Nov. 30, a fire gutted Mr. Guldi’s house in Westhampton Beach. The family and its two pets were out of town when the fire destroyed the 150-year-old house, which was Mr. Guldi’s birthplace. News reports said the fire started because of an electrical problem, and Mr. Guldi said officials did not believe it was suspicious.