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July 7, 1996
The commission monitors attorney conduct. It could recommend the filing of a complaint, which could lead to sanctions up to the revocation of Zeff's law license, if it finds misconduct.
Philip Thomas, the grievance commission's administrator, would neither confirm nor deny that an investigation has started. But Connecticut officials, who are looking into Zeff's dealings there, are known to have been contacted by grievance commission representatives last week, after Zeff was arrested on charges of destroying evidence and interfering with a search during a raid at his Westport, Conn., home.
Zeff could not be reached at his Detroit or Connecticut offices. His home in Connecticut has an unlisted telephone.
The Michigan investigation is one more piece of bad news for Zeff, who gained a measure of fortune and fame handling Grosse Pointe society divorces and medical malpractice claims in the 1970s. Lately, the 62-year-old attorney has practiced law only occasionally, concentrating instead on trying to bring casino gambling to Detroit and on running the jai alai/greyhound racing facility he owns in Bridgeport, Conn.
In May, Connecticut state police began investigating Zeff for taking a Las Vegas vacation with that state's chief gambling regulator hours after the official voted to approve a proposal favorable to Zeff.
Police investigating that trip served a search warrant at Zeff's Westport home on June 25. During the search, police allege, Zeff ran from a back door and threw documents and tape recordings sought by investigators into a neighbor's yard.
Police arrested Zeff and seized tapes and a briefcase outfitted with a hidden microphone. Connecticut investigators will not say what the tapes contain. Zeff is known to have had meetings with numerous state officials, including Connecticut Gov. John Rowland and representatives of U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, over the past two years during an unsuccessful effort to bring casino gambling to Bridgeport.
Zeff is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on the criminal charges in Connecticut.
The Connecticut flap marks the first time Zeff has been arrested. But he frequently has been in the news.
In 1985, the Michigan Attorney General's Office investigated Zeff for claiming nonresident tax status while he allegedly lived and worked in Detroit. Zeff denied the allegation, and was never charged with wrongdoing.
In 1986, a $2,500 computer from Zeff's office was found among the possessions of Jerome Bronson, a Michigan Court of Appeals judge who killed himself after being accused of taking bribes. Zeff said he had no knowledge of how it got there, and was never charged with wrongdoing.
In 1986, the Attorney Grievance Commission looked into allegations that Zeff back-dated a document to obtain a favorable price in a real estate transaction. The investigation was closed without a complaint being issued.
The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, a nine-member panel appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court, reviews complaints of attorney misconduct. Last year, the commission reviewed about 4,000 complaints and sent about 400 to the the state Attorney Discipline Board for possible action.
The Attorney Discipline Board, which can mete out punishments ranging from reprimands to disbarment if it finds misconduct, disbarred 35 Michigan lawyers in 1995 and disciplined 200.