The state has temporarily suspended two local attorneys convicted on criminal charges.
Suspension orders for North Andover attorney Robert V. Eberle and Andover attorney Charles R. Quinn III were issued Dec. 10 by the state Board of Bar Overseers.
Eberle's suspension stems from two charges of shoplifting, the most recent dating back to a June 2009 incident at the Northshore Mall in Peabody.
Quinn, who was already under administrative suspension by the board, was convicted in early 2009 for operating under the influence of liquor and drug possession charges.
Neither Eberle nor Quinn could be reached for comment.
Eberle will begin serving a four-month suspension from practicing law in Massachusetts this month. The Board of Bar Overseers listed his address as 231 Sutton St., North Andover.
Eberle was convicted of larceny under $250 in June 2009 and sentenced to unsupervised probation. He was charged with stealing between $11 and $14 in CDs and guitar strings from the Northshore Mall.
Eberle's motion for a new trial was denied in August. He has since appealed the decision.
In 2001, Eberle admitted to sufficient facts on charges of shoplifting over $100. The case was continued without a finding, which given his admission of sufficient facts equates to a conviction, according to Board of Bar Overseers general counsel Michael Fredrickson.
"Although the crimes for which the respondent has been convicted are misdemeanors resulting in minor criminal sentences, the nature of those offenses, as the rules of professional conduct make clear, involves dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation," wrote Fredrickson in a Dec. 18 memo.
Quinn's suspension order is effective immediately and valid until a further court order. His address is listed by the Board of Bar Overseers as 14 Clark Road, Andover.
Quinn was most recently convicted in Maine and he did not report the convictions to the board.
Between March 4 and May 21, 2009, he was convicted of operating under the influence of liquor, operating with a revoked and suspended license, disorderly conduct, refusing to submit to arrest or detention, and unlawful possession of drugs, according to court documents.
Quinn was administratively suspended from practicing law in Massachusetts by the Board of Bar Overseers in July 2008, when he was convicted in Maine for disorderly conduct and violating the conditions of bail release.
In June 2008, he admitted to sufficient facts in Concord District Court on charges of possession of a firearm without an FID card. The case was continued without a finding.
In August 2004, Quinn also admitted to sufficient facts in Newbury District Court on charges of operating under the influence of liquor. The case was continued without a finding.
