Standby attorney in trans case indicted
J. Michael Farrell, a standby attorney in the Diamond Williams murder case, has been indicted for allegedly helping to launder money for a drug-trafficking operation.
Farrell, 63, of Wenonah, N.J., was arraigned Feb. 12 in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md. He pleaded not guilty to 12 counts, including conspiracy, money laundering, tampering with an official proceeding and witness tampering.
Farrell is free pending trial, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
It remains unclear if Farrell will continue serving as a standby attorney for Charles N. Sargent, accused of murdering trans woman Williams in 2013.
Sargent allegedly stabbed Williams to death, then dismembered her body, after a sexual encounter in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city.
Sargent is serving as his own attorney at his upcoming trial, which is scheduled to begin next month.
But in December, Common Pleas Judge Lillian H. Ransom ordered Farrell to serve as Sargent’s standby attorney.
Farrell couldn’t be reached for comment.
Deadline issued in AIDS case
Dr. Emannuella Cherisme, a physician who’s suing AIDS Care Group for alleged sexual harassment, has until March 2 to serve her complaint on the agency.
In a Feb. 9 order issued by U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro, Cherisme was told that if she doesn’t serve her complaint by March 2, the matter will be dismissed.
Cherisme claims she experienced sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of her race, national origin and gender when she worked at AIDS Care Group in 2013.
Cherisme is seeking in excess of $150,000 in damages, along with legal fees and costs. A jury trial has been requested.
AIDS Care Group, based in Delaware County, was formed in 1998 and serves as a comprehensive health-services agency for people with HIV/AIDS. It also receives federal HIV/AIDS-prevention funds.
AIDS Care Group has offices in Chester, Sharon Hill and Reading.
No word on retrial for Milano killer
Bucks County prosecutors continue to consider whether to retry Frank R. Chester for first-degree murder in the grisly slashing death of gay artist Anthony Milano.
The deadline to make a decision is March 20.
If prosecutors don’t retry Chester, he’ll be released from death row, where he’s been for almost 30 years. But he’ll remain imprisoned due to other convictions.
In 1987, Chester and Richard R. Laird hacked out Milano’s throat with a box cutter. Prosecutors called it an antigay hate crime, though there were no hate-crime protections in place for LGBTs at the time.
U.S. District Judge C. Darnell Jones 2d voided Chester’s first-degree murder conviction on the basis that his 1988 murder trial was unfair.
Both Chester and Laird remain on death row in state prisons.
Case-management conference set in antibias case
A case-management conference is set for next month in the case of Alfred W. Zaher, an openly gay attorney who claims a hostile work environment caused him to leave the Blank Rome law firm.
The proceeding is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. March 16 in Room 513 of City Hall.
Zaher recently filed suit against Blank Rome, seeking compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $50,000.
He claims anti-LGBT bias at the firm became intolerable after he organized an LGBT-equity event in early 2014.
In a prior statement, Blank Rome officials described Zaher’s allegations as “baseless,” and vowed to mount a vigorous defense.
Zaher, who specializes in intellectual-property rights, currently works at the Center City law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll.
— Timothy Cwiek
LGBT choir seeking singers
Philadelphia Voices of Pride is hosting auditions for its 10th-annual concert, “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” by Karl Jenkins.
Interested singers can audition at 1 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St.
The Prometheus Chamber Orchestra will accompany the choir at the concert, which takes place May 21 at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 3723 Chestnut St. Tickets cost $40 for VIP, $25 for general admission or $15 for students.
For more information, visit www.pvop.org or contact [email protected].
Breast-cancer survey seeks input from lesbians
A survey seeks to study the sexuality of lesbian survivors of breast cancer as well as lesbians who have not been diagnosed with the disease. People can take the survey through the end of the year.
Participants must be 21 or older. Transgender women who identify as lesbians are also invited to take part.
The survey is available by visiting http://ow.ly/Ylu4b. It takes about a half-hour to complete. Participants receive a $20 coupon for HankyPanky.com at the end.
The research is being conducted through Widener University in Delaware County. For more information, contact the study’s principal investigator, Rosara Torrisi, at 516-690-6779 or [email protected].
— Paige Cooperstein