LATROBE ATTORNEY TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED FROM PRACTICING LAW

A Latrobe attorney has been temporarily suspended from practicing law by the state Supreme Court.  The Trib reports that 70-year-old J. Allen Roth is currently in jail on charges that he stole $31,000 from a client’s bank account and gambling it at a local casino.  His license to practice law will be indefinitely suspended effective Jan. 15.  Roth is scheduled to appear that day before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio for arraignment.  Prosecutors said they feared Roth would continue to act as a lawyer if released from jail. Investigators testified that since Roth’s arrest, the district attorney’s office has received as many as 10 new complaints alleging misconduct by Roth.  No new charges have been filed and Roth has maintained his innocence.