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A Tarzana tax attorney who was accused of running
a brothel out of his law office has resigned from the State Bar. BOBBY
ABRAMS, 51, gave up his license Jan. 11, 2002, 17 months after he
pleaded no contest to a single pandering charge.Abrams was sentenced
to three years in state prison and had been on interim suspension from
practice since July 17, 1999.
In exchange for his no contest plea, prosecutors
dropped eight other pimping and pandering charges.
Abrams was arrested in February 1998 on suspicion
of operating a brothel out of his second-story office on Ventura
Boulevard. Investigators said the business, called "Fantasy
Affairs," employed six women who purportedly performed their
professional services in Abrams' small office, which contained an
elaborate electric train set and bookcases holding hundreds of
miniature trains. The prostitutes allegedly made house calls as well.
Police said Abrams advertised his outside
business on the internet and in L.A. X-press, a personals tabloid. An
internet ad showed a naked prostitute purport-edly posing in Abrams'
office, where his legal diploma from Whittier Law School could be seen
hanging in the background.
Abrams' landlord told the Los Angeles Times
that he had tried to evict his tenant after learning he installed a
shower in the office and bored holes in the walls for his electric
train set. He reportedly lined the walls with floor-to-ceiling
bookshelves that displayed model trains.
The landlord also said police had responded to
noise complaints at the office.
Despite originally professing his innocence,
Abrams entered his plea after prosecutors indicated he could be
sentenced to a rehabilitation center rather than state prison if he
made a showing he is a drug addict.
Although Abrams' attorney provided testimony by
a substance abuse counselor who said he believed Abrams is addicted to
cocaine and marijuana, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Hoff
said he was not convinced Abrams is an addict and sentenced him to
prison. |
