The U.S. attorney for Utah has been assigned to investigate Howard O. Kieffer, a California man who misrepresented himself as a lawyer and tried a murder-for-hire case in Denver’s federal court.
The criminal probe opened after The Denver Post reported that Kieffer is not a licensed attorney in any U.S. state or territory and did not attend the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C., as he claimed in applying to practice in federal court.
Federal prosecutors in Colorado recused themselves from investigating Kieffer because they witnessed him practicing law during Gwen Bergman’s murder-for-hire trial.
But if Kieffer is indicted, the case will likely be heard in Denver’s federal court, said Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney for Utah.
Kieffer was retained to defend Bergman, an Aspen woman accused of trying to hire a hitman on the Internet to kill her son’s father. Bergman now has grounds to appeal her conviction because she was not represented by counsel.
Her new attorney, EJ Hurst II, has not returned calls seeking comment about whether he will ask for a mistrial.
Kieffer, 52, is executive director of Federal Defense Associates, a Santa Ana, Calif., firm, but he has a criminal past including convictions for tax fraud and grand theft. From 1989 to 1992, Kieffer spent time in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
After prison, Kieffer began building relationships with lawyers and started an Internet “listserv” providing advice on post-conviction issues and policies of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Kieffer also became a panelist at legal conferences sponsored by the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
As early as 2004, federal court records show Kieffer represented at least 16 clients in 10 federal courts throughout the country. His clients include Michael Danton, an NHL player who was convicted of trying to kill his agent. Danton hired Kieffer to request a reduction in his prison sentence.
Kieffer managed to practice law by taking advantage of a loose application process in the federal courts that, in some jurisdictions, simply required a local attorney to vouch for his credentials. In some courts, like Denver’s, clerks did not verify whether Kieffer was licensed to practice law in the state he listed on his application.
On Thursday, Kieffer missed the deadline to provide proof of his bar membership to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Court records show Kieffer often listed the circuit as a jurisdiction where he was admitted to practice and when the 9th Circuit was notified of the scheme by The Post, the appellate commissioner issued an order for Kieffer to show cause. The 10th Circuit, which includes Colorado, on Wednesday also issued an order vacating Kieffer’s admission to the court unless he provides proof within two weeks that he is an attorney.
North Dakota’s chief federal judge also issued an order for Kieffer to provide proof after receiving a complaint from a client. Kieffer has until Monday to provide the information.
Kieffer’s office voice mail says he is on vacation until July 10.
The Post has not been able to reach him by e-mail or phone since June 17, when he declined to say where he was licensed to practice and where he attended law school.
In the past two weeks, Kieffer has stopped moderating his Internet listserv and his attorney listing has been removed from and .
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
