Slidel attorney Joseph George Pastorek II, also a physician in Covington, has been permanently disbarred following a Jan. 30 Louisiana Supreme Court disciplinary proceeding after his 2011 conviction following an investigation the U.S. Department of Justice dubbed "Doc-In-A-Box."
Pastorek also was ordered to pay all costs and expenses in the matter, according to the state high court's 17-page disciplinary proceeding. "Regardless of the fact that [Pastorek]'s misconduct may not definitively fit any of the specific permanent disbarment guidelines, his conduct demonstrates a clear lack of moral fitness," the disciplinary proceeding said.
"Particularly when viewed in the light of his bar admission proceeding, it is fair to say that respondent’s behavior continues to place the public at risk and to tarnish the image of the legal profession. In order to protect the public and maintain the high standards of the legal profession in this state, we conclude that respondent should not be allowed the opportunity to return to the practice of law in the future."
Pastorek already was under interim suspension because of his narcotics convictions.
Pastorek was admitted to the Louisiana bar Jan. 9, 2007, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
Pastorek was one of three defendants found guilty following a six-week trial in U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Florida, in late 2011, for their alleged roles in running "pain clinics" in Pensacola and New Orleans designed exclusively for distributing controlled prescription medication outside of normal medical practice, according to a DOJ news release at the time. The federal jury found Pastorek and the other two defendants, Dennis M. Caroni of Los Angeles and Gerard M. Dileo of Bradenton, Florida, guilty of conspiring to unlawfully distribute prescription pain killers, according to therelease. Caroni and Dileo also were found guilty of conspiring to commit money laundering.
The charges against the three defendants were part of a multiyear Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation dubbed "Doc-in-a-Box".
In February 2012, the Louisiana Supreme Court handed down an order placing Pastorek on interim suspension. During a January 2013 hearing in Pensacola, Pastorek, was sentenced to a year in prison to be following by a year of home confinement, according to a Jan. 18, 2013 DOJ news release.
This past August the Louisiana attorney disciplinary board recommended that Pastorek be permanently disbarred following his conviction in federal court for unlawfully dispensing Schedule II and Schedule III controlled substances.