Organization sought information to disbar lawyer, suit alleges
A private investigator who is suing KIDS of El Paso County Inc. for breach of contract claims program officials hired him to dig tip evidence that would get an unnamed lawyer disbarred. In the suit, investigator *** alleges KIDS never paid him for his work ordered promised information. He filed the suit Tuesday in 243rd District Court. The suit names as defendant’s KIDS board Chairman *** and three others connected with the program. *** seeks at least $50,000 and a jury trial. *** citing advice from his lawyer: would not divulge the name of the lawyer he was allegedly hired to investigate. ***, an El Paso lawyer who represented a man who claimed he was falsely imprisoned at the center, said Thursday that he was the lawyer *** suit referred to. He would not say where he got the information other than from "someone who would know.” “I'm certainly not surprised to hear it. The possibility that they could make some type of retaliatory move is not out of their realm," *** said. ***, an attorney representing KIDS, declined comment because he had not seen the suit. According to the suit, *** met with ***, ***, ***, and *** May 28, 1987. *** and the others told *** they wanted to hire him to investigate a lawyer who had filed a suit against KIDS. They wanted to get evidence to have the lawyer disbarred and to sue him for interfering with a contract, *** suit alleges. The group also wanted him to find ***, a son of *** who had run away from the treatment center for troubled adolescents, according to the suit. The suit alleges that the group reneged on an agreement to pay *** a $1,500 retainer or provide him with promised information, such as a list of witnesses, and he resigned from the case July 23.