Bondi
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - The Florida Attorney General's Office has reportedly fired one of its assistant attorneys general for her alleged involvement in a so-called "foreclosure mill."
The Tampa Tribune reported Thursday that Attorney General Pam Bondi terminated Erin Cullaro last month.
According to the Tribune, Cullaro worked for the attorney general's Economic Crimes Division in Tampa. She used to work at Tampa-based Florida Default Law Group, which handles foreclosures for banks, and continued to do notary work for the group after she was hired by the state.
The newspaper said Cullaro was given the OK by the Attorney General's Office in April 2008 to continue working for the group. She was allowed to notarize law firm documents for 15 minutes three days a week, the Tribune reported.
The Florida Default Law Group now is under investigation by the Attorney General's Office for "possible fabricated and misleading documents" in foreclosure cases.
According to the Tribune, Cullaro was reprimanded in March -- for a second time -- by Gov. Rick Scott's office. His office questioned variations of her signature on legal documents.
According to a letter from Scott's office obtained by the newspaper, the signature used to notarize affidavits of "reasonable attorney fees" was not the same one she was allowed to use.
The Governor's Office also believed Cullaro's continued dual employment was creating "an appearance of impropriety."
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.