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Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: joe travers on January 06, 2015, 10:42:04 AM

Title: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: joe travers on January 06, 2015, 10:42:04 AM
This stems from the law firm Dewey & LeBeouf filing for bankruptcy back in 2012. One of the partners there made $134k MONTHLY but somehow managed to spend $196k MONTHLY! Check it out the WSJ story here: http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2015/01/06/in-bankruptcy-with-a-19000-monthly-rent/

"John Altorelli, the latest former Dewey partner to seek bankruptcy protection, filed for Chapter 7 in November to halt a $12.9 million lawsuit brought against him in the Dewey bankruptcy, according to a lengthy statement from his lawyer.

"But behind the potential Dewey debt—which seeks to claw back all the money he made at the firm in its final 4 1/2 years—is an extravagant lifestyle that’s costing quite a bit of cash on its own. In a 90-page disclosure filed last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bridgeport, Conn., Mr. Altorelli details how a monthly income of $134,611 is completely eaten up, and then some, by more than $196,000 in monthly expenses.

"Many of those costs stem from real estate, including a $19,000 monthly rent for an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and $11,756 per month in mortgage payments for his seven-bedroom home in New Milford, Conn. He’s also footing the bill for two other Connecticut properties that, like his primary home, are worth less than what he paid for them.

"Tack on $7,450 a month for a car service, nearly $25,000 in alimony and hefty tax obligations, and the monthly costs quickly rise.

"Mr. Altorelli declined to comment Monday on his finances, which are laid bare in the filings. The disclosures also include a list of every household item, article of clothing, book and CD in his possession, including 32 suits, 70 ties, seven blenders, a 2008 Cadillac Escalade and a $16,000 watch. (Even his dogs—two Rottweilers and a German shepard—get mentioned)."
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: Cheddar Stacker on January 06, 2015, 11:21:56 AM
Wow. I was half way through your post thinking $134K/year is not a lot of money. Then it finally clicked that this is monthly.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: RFAAOATB on January 06, 2015, 11:31:45 AM
Amazing you can be smart enough to pass law school, make that much money, and still fail at personal finance.
I make slightly above median wages and struggle to see how people making less than me get by.  Imagine if he got knocked down to public defender salary for the rest of his life.  Dude should commit suicide.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: dandarc on January 06, 2015, 11:45:14 AM
That part where he could have settled for 1.4 million in 2012 - hindsight and all, but looking like a hell of a deal today.  Wonder if he fought that because that would have pushed him to bankruptcy same as the 12 million?
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: slugline on January 06, 2015, 12:23:38 PM
2008 Cadillac Escalade? How did a guy like this get stuck with such an old beater for a set of wheels?
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: mginwa on January 06, 2015, 12:47:49 PM
To me the critical sentence is: "But behind the potential Dewey debt—which seeks to claw back all the money he made at the firm in its final 4 1/2 years"

I'm sure he has a very extravagant lifestyle. But I'm also sure he's making a case to not give back 4 1/2 years of income. His bankruptcy is likely strategic, but I agree he probably wishes he had taken the $1.4M deal.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: NoraLenderbee on January 06, 2015, 03:41:24 PM
2008 Cadillac Escalade? How did a guy like this get stuck with such an old beater for a set of wheels?

Oh, he doesn't *drive* it. He just parks it in the driveway of House #3 so the place looks lived in.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: EricL on January 06, 2015, 04:37:56 PM
What happened to partners Cheatam and Howe?
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: minority_finance_mo on January 06, 2015, 04:57:37 PM
How do you own a 7 bedroom APARTMENT?? This might be the poor person in me talking, but what would you even do with all that space??
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: hernandz on January 06, 2015, 08:16:10 PM
Why 7 bedrooms?  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Yes, he probably sleeps in the suburbs on the weekends, but I'm going to bet that at least one and possibly two bedrooms are staff rooms (formerly known as maid's rooms)
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: Wile E. Coyote on January 06, 2015, 09:04:40 PM
I got a nice laugh from the $106K/year in "miscellaneous cash expenses."

I also wonder how the "girlfriend" feels about having her quarterly $10K "gifts" from him being made public. 

Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: zephyr911 on January 08, 2015, 02:48:28 PM
I'm not that familiar with bankruptcy law, but don't you have to prove that these are actual obligations, as opposed to STUPID SHIT that you've been pissing money away on? I mean, this guy lives in a city with the best public transit I've ever seen, owns a luxury vehicle, and still spends more on his "car service" than I make from my primary job.

Not only is he a fucking idiot, but claiming these expenses as necessities makes a mockery of the process.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: Middlesbrough on January 08, 2015, 05:50:38 PM


Not only is he a fucking idiot, but claiming these expenses as necessities makes a mockery of the process.
This, so much!
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: Rosbif on January 13, 2015, 05:30:28 AM
Ha, that's some good work. As a lawyer, I feel I should defend my people, but... nope. I'm out.

So many lawyers cannot afford to retire, because there's just so much money pouring in, and they never think about the future. In France, you get a 66% tax credit (not deduction, CREDIT) for charitable donations. This was a surprise to every partner I told (100k/mth average). I know people who borrowed money to pay taxes.

It's an easy trap to fall into, there's massive pressure to conform to certain lifestyle, and law firm partners are conformists, by definition. Which is why this doesn't surprise me.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: RFAAOATB on January 13, 2015, 08:17:07 AM
And I'm about to fall into the trap of studying for the LSAT and dreaming of big lawyer money.  Hell, medium lawyer money is more than I make now.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: Megatron on January 13, 2015, 02:55:22 PM
what the hell does he need 7 blenders for?
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: dandarc on January 13, 2015, 02:58:05 PM
what the hell does he need 7 blenders for?
One for each bedroom - gotta have that wake-me-up frozen margarita regardless of which bedroom he wakes up in.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: Rosbif on January 14, 2015, 02:42:20 AM
British lawyers are being told* to save £700 a month from age 27, to achieve 35k pa by retirement: http://www.solicitorsjournal.com/news/private-client/pensions/lawyers-warned-about-costs-delaying-retirement-planning

*allowing advertorial content selling pension "advice"


Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: marty998 on January 14, 2015, 03:00:58 AM
How do you own a 7 bedroom APARTMENT?? This might be the poor person in me talking, but what would you even do with all that space??

what the hell does he need 7 blenders for?
One for each bedroom - gotta have that wake-me-up frozen margarita regardless of which bedroom he wakes up in.

Was under the impression the need for these things and the only way you could spend that much was to have 7 wives

j/k :)


Quote
All told, Mr. Altorelli lists assets of $5.1 million and liabilities of $27.6 million, including several Dewey-related debts and loans owed to Citibank, Barclays Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank and Wells Fargo Bank

This is one of the worst summary personal balance sheets I've ever seen.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: Carlsky on January 14, 2015, 06:14:45 AM
You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with.  This guy was surrounded by people who spent a lot of money and justified it to themselves as a necessity.  He deluded himself into believing what he was doing was necessary for the lifestyle.  I don't like it but I understand it. 

If I compare myself to someone living in a favela in Brazil, then I would think that I waste a lot of money on things I consider a necessity.
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: EricL on January 23, 2015, 09:21:26 AM
So many lawyers cannot afford to retire, because there's just so much money pouring in, and they never think about the future. In France, you get a 66% tax credit (not deduction, CREDIT) for charitable donations. This was a surprise to every partner I told (100k/mth average). I know people who borrowed money to pay taxes.

France offers a 66% tax CREDIT for charitable contributions?  This certainly puts all the people over there whining about their 75% tax bracket in a new light. 
Title: Re: Fancy NY atty w/ MONTHLY income of $134k filing bankruptcy
Post by: Rosbif on January 24, 2015, 03:03:49 PM
So many lawyers cannot afford to retire, because there's just so much money pouring in, and they never think about the future. In France, you get a 66% tax credit (not deduction, CREDIT) for charitable donations. This was a surprise to every partner I told (100k/mth average). I know people who borrowed money to pay taxes.

France offers a 66% tax CREDIT for charitable contributions?  This certainly puts all the people over there whining about their 75% tax bracket in a new light.
It's 75% up to a few hundred bucks! But yeah, if I give 1000€ to charity, I get slightly more than 660€ back from the government. Comes off my taxes, or, if my tax bill is zero (likely this year) then I get a cheque. In fairness to those earning >1M€, there is a cap! There's also a wealth tax, dividends are taxed as earned income, payroll taxes are about 1200€ on a 1900€ monthly salary, etc etc Definitely not low COL if you're living off income from capital.

Wealth tax is a sliding scale starting at 800k. For example, if you have a net worth of 10M, you'll be paying 100k a year just on the wealth. The income that this wealth generates is also taxed, of course...