Miami-Dade attorney arrested by FBI over child porn gets court’s petition granted

MIAMI – The Florida Supreme Court recently disciplined 21 attorneys, including a Coral Gables-based attorney facing child porn charges.

The FBI arrested William “Bill” McCaughan Jr., in July over his alleged federal crimes on the Kik app while in an apartment in the village of Key Biscayne, federal court records show.

McCaughan, who worked for the Morgan Law Group, pleaded not guilty to charges of receipt of child pornography and attempted receipt of child pornography.

The state’s top court granted his Nov. 7 petition for disciplinary revocation with leave to seek readmission to the Florida Bar after five years on Dec. 14, records show.

The disbarment, which is effective 30 days after the court’s order, requires McCaughan to “close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients.”

The list of 21 attorneys disciplined also included three others based in Miami-Dade County and two based in Broward County.

The other attorneys in Miami-Dade were Hector Acosta Jr., Pedro Gonzalez, and James Leano. The two Broward-based attorneys were Paul Silverberg and Jose Pete Font.

The court suspended Acosta and Leano after they were accused of misappropriating their client’s funds.

The court also suspended Silverberg after he was accused of not having required funds in escrow and over alleged communication with a former client while suspended.

The court suspended Gonzalez after he was held in contempt for failing to respond to official Florida Bar inquiries and for failure to respond to a court’s order.

The court suspended Font for three years after he authored motions containing disparaging information about other attorneys.

Here is the list of the other 15 attorneys disciplined in Florida:

1. Shawn Michael Berry, of Orlando
2. Gregorio Dickson-Ventura, of Intercession City
3. Theodore R. Doran, of Daytona Beach
4. Mark Edwin Heimendinger, of Oviedo
5. Nazmul Islam, of Palm City
6. James Michael Janousek II, of Live Oak
7. Brandon Lee Kolb, of St. Petersburg
8. Bert Edward Moore, of Crestview
9. Brittany D. O’Diam, of Centerville, OH
10. Peter J. Parlow, of Lowell, MA
11. Henry Neil Portner, of Bonsall, CA
12. John James Rogers, of Tampa
13. William Glenn Roy Jr., of Altamonte Springs
14. Tanner Robert Whitmill, of Land O Lakes
15. David Luther Woodward, of Pensacola

For more information about the cases, visit this Florida Bar page.