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Attorneys George Castrataro and Arthur Smith collaborated in a group panel on Asset Protection. The panel organized by Our Fund was “a great opportunity to offer community education while collaborating with Our Fund, said Castrataro. Our Fund is quickly growing to become a key source of leadership and community support, further offered Castrataro.

As found in the Sun Sentinel.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-08-01/news/fl-bankruptcies-june-2012-20120801_1_bankruptcy-filings-loan-modification-short-sale

Please join the staff of the Law Offices of George Castrataro, PA along with our friends at Lyons, Snyder & Collin, PA, and Michael Albetta for a meet and greet with Sheriff Al Lamberti.

Date: June 8, 2012

Time: 5:30 to 7:30PM

Location: Rosie’s Bar and Grill

Address: 2449 Wilton Drive  Wilton Manors, FL 33305

Sheriff Al Lamberti is a 34-year veteran of the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

He began his career in the Department of Detention. After transferring to road patrol, Sheriff Lamberti worked his way through the ranks, eventually serving as a captain in the Organized Crime Division. He then assumed his position as District Chief in Deerfield Beach in January 1990.

After his promotion to Major, Sheriff Lamberti served as Interim Police Chief for the City of Hollywood and North Lauderdale. Soon after, he served as Director of the Training and Organizational Development Division where he oversaw the Center for Advanced Criminal Justice Studies Executive Leadership Program, as well as all day-to-day training functions.

When Sheriff Lamberti returned to the Department of Law Enforcement, he assumed command of the South Patrol Region, which includes Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport post-September 11th.

A graduate of the 167th Session of the F.B.I. National Academy, Sheriff Lamberti served as President of the Florida Chapter of the F.B.I National Academy Associates in 2004. He served as President of the Broward Sheriff’s FOP Lodge #32 from 1984 – 1985. Additionally, he was the Chairman of the Regional Coordinating Team of the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council for the Southeast Region from 1999 to 2007. In early 2009, Sheriff Lamberti was named chairman of the Region 7 Gang Reduction Task Force by the Attorney General.

Married to Holly for 19 years, he has one son, Nicholas, and two step-children, Jaime and David.

In September 2007, Sheriff Lamberti was appointed Broward Sheriff by Governor Charlie Crist. In November 2008, he was elected by the citizens of Broward County to serve

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO A MEET & GREET FUNDRAISER FOR BROWARD COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY MICHAEL J. SATZ!

Where:

Dapur Asian Tapas & Lounge
1620 North Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305

Driving Directions

When:

Wednesday May 9, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Add to my calendar

RSVP: Not Required

• Complimentary Hors d’oeuvres

• Please call 954-5731444 for questions or for additional information.

• Please make your contributribution
payable to the “Campaign of Michael J. Satz”

SPONSORED BY:
The Law Offices of George Castrataro, PA
&
Lyons, Snyder & Collin, PA

Political advertisement paid for and approved by
Michael J. Satz, Democrat for State Attorney, 17th
Judicial Circuit

Sincerely,

George Castrataro
Law Offices of George Castrataro, PA
help@lawgc.com
954-573-1444

Please Join Us To Meet, Greet, and Raise Funds

Al Lamberti, Broward County’s Sheriff

Creator and leader of the BSO Hate Crimes/Anti-bias Task Force

Date: April 18, 2012

Time: 5:30 – 7:30PM

Location: J. Marks Restaurant, 1245 North Federal Highway  Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

HOSTED BY:  The Law Offices of George Castrataro, PA & GLBT Alliance

HOST COMMITTEE:

Lyons, Snyder & Collin, P.A.

Lea Kraus, Esq., P.A.

J. Marks Restaurant

Carol Moran

Scott Rouda

Joe Guerrero

 For more information, please call 954-573-1444.  RSVP not required!

Friday March 23, 2012 – Mortgage Heartburn 

Banks stall on foreclosures, courts overwhelmed, attorneys say -

South Florida Business Journal by Paul Brinkmann

There is some anxiety these days about the damage to Florida’s massive foreclosure backlog as a result of court budget cuts.

For example, Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock recently said that budget cuts will slow down her ability to process new foreclosure cases, further bogging down a system already clogged by thousands of foreclosures.

But there is another factor many attorneys say is more important: inaction by banks on stalled foreclosure cases.

“The backlog of cases is going to be a problem until the courts are funded properly. I would put a lot of the blame on court funding,” said Tom Ice, a foreclosure defense attorney in Boca Raton. “My biggest frustration is not getting answers. When I have a client who actually has money to put down and cut a deal with a bank, I can’t get answers about whether they will accept an offer or not.”

Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the national Mortgage Bankers Association, recently told NPR that local markets can be damaged by foreclosure backlogs.

“We’re really seeing it’s not so much a national problem,” Brinkmann said. “It’s an Illinois problem. It’s a Florida problem. It’s a New Jersey problem.” He said the backlog creates a lack of certainty for potential homebuyers because they worry about a flood of foreclosed homes hitting the market.

On one hand, Ice said, banks seem to be avoiding a big push on foreclosures because they know a flood of homes for sale will depress the market.

But he acknowledged that staying in foreclosure can be costly to banks and to homeowners. He said his clients are usually committed to basic maintenance if they have reason to hope they will stay in the home.

“The banks, I would suggest, don’t really want to push this through,” Ice said. “Banks are manipulating this backlog. They know if they dump all these houses on the market, the price they will get is going to go down.”

Ice’s firm, Ice Legal, handled a case for homeowner Roman Pino, which is pending in front of the Florida Supreme Court.

Bank of New York Mellon foreclosed on Pino, but the bank was shown to have false documents about the mortgage, “robo-signed” by Plantation attorney David Stern’s firm, which is now out of business. The bank withdrew the case, but Ice Legal filed to reopen the case so Ice could take depositions and possibly seek sanctions. Two lower courts denied the request to reopen the case. Ice appealed to the Supreme Court. At that point, the bank reached confidential settlement with Pino.

But the Supreme Court ordered the attorneys to present the case anyway so it could hear arguments.

Should courts care about economy?

Ice said the economy should not be the court’s top concern.

“It’s not the court’s concern that the economy might be affected by this; the court’s concern should be due process and administration of justice,” he said. Otherwise, the integrity of property ownership rights and records is compromised, he said.

In fact, attorneys have said that title companies are reluctant to insure properties that have been caught in the robo-signing scandal until greater clarity is provided.

The Florida Legislature has authorized $400 million for courts to hire part-time judges to help with the backlog, but that is $200 million less than the last appropriation, and comes as clerk’s offices have suffered budget cuts.

George Castrataro, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who handles foreclosure and bankruptcy, said recent upticks in foreclosure volume will be dwarfed by what is coming.

Castrataro pointed out that national settlements with banks on robo-signing allegations will feed the pipeline, and Florida’s delinquency rate on mortgages has grown.

“There are hundreds of cases where there hasn’t been any activity for longer than 400 or 500 days,” he said.

Castrataro said one new tactic for him is filing actions against lenders seeking to enforce temporary modification agreements. The homeowner makes payments thinking there will be a final agreement, but the bank often stalls further or forecloses anyway, he said.

“We’re saying the lender engaged in modification, but didn’t resolve it in a timely manner,” he said. “We’ve had some fees paid, or settlement on some terms.”

Castrataro said it is not clear to him if banks “want the delay or if they just can’t get their act together.”

One thing is for sure, Ice said: Clients can’t stay in limbo forever.

“We lose a lot of clients who just give up,” he said. “It’s too stressful, and they tell me, ‘I need to get on with my life.’ I’ve even had clients drop out who have very good defenses.”

Oral arguments in the Pino case are set for May 10. Amanda Lundergan, an attorney with Ice Legal, will argue the homeowner’s side.

LawGC has finished a major IT infrastructure upgrade which has improved case management and client services.  With the help and support of our business partners, LawGC has successfully embarked upon and completed a major hardware upgrade.  We have invested over $20,000 in new infrastructure to provide a higher level of redundancy and efficiency.  Our new hardware is complimented by extensive services and support from our business partners Lexis, WestLaw and BestCase which now enable real time and automated case docket management, electronic filing, and high speed data management.  Long story short….we got a great IT system…great IT partners and a very well integrated system that will ensure we meet our clients needs for years to come.

THANKS to all for your help!

George Castrataro has been rated AV – Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell®. AV – Preeminent is the highest and most significant rating accomplishment. The rating is a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

The General Ethical Standards rating denotes adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities. Those lawyers who meet the “Very High” criteria of General Ethical Standards can proceed to the next step in the ratings process – Legal Ability.

Overall Peer Rating (In Bankruptcy, Litigation and General Practice): 5.0 out of 5.0