The New Jersey Supreme Court Disciplinary Review Board issued a censure to a 50-plus-year veteran attorney after an investigation revealed improper fee sharing with his paralegal, among other charges.
According to a DRB decision issued Wednesday, Gerard A. Del Tufo earned bar admission in 1969 and maintained a law practice in Matawan that handled real estate transactions, wills and estates, and litigation. One of his attorney trust account subaccounts became overdrawn on May 8, 2017, and an overdraft notice was sent to the Office of Attorney Ethics, which triggered its investigation into Del Tufo’s financial records. The investigation found recordkeeping deficiencies, including failure to maintain an ATA receipts journal, failure to maintain records and client files for seven years, and having a non-attorney authorized to sign ATA checks.
