Attorney Sent to Prison for Selling Drugs

A criminal defense attorney suspended because of a drug problem was sentenced to two years in state prison Tuesday for his conviction on charges of selling cocaine from his Encino apartment.

Richard Irving Lang, 47, pleaded guilty in February to possession of cocaine for sale. Before a 1987 suspension by the State Bar of California, Lang worked mainly at the Van Nuys Courthouse.

“The investigation started when an informant indicated he (Lang) was selling cocaine at his apartment and (at) a Cocaine Anonymous meeting he was attending,” Deputy Dist. Atty. David Mintz said.

Lang’s attorney, Paul Fitzgerald, disputed the prosecutor’s claim that Lang was selling cocaine at the meetings of the drug-recovery group. Fitzgerald said Lang was an active member of the group and had been acquitted by a judge in 1988 on charges of selling drugs at meetings.

Police who investigated Lang and two co-defendants believe that the attorney is a “major drug dealer” who deserves state prison, according to a Probation Department report prepared for Tuesday’s sentencing.

“It appears to this writer that the defendant allowed his greed to get the better of him,” Deputy Probation Officer Jake C. Walker wrote. “He also appears to be a vulture, preying upon the weak in society.”

Fitzgerald said Lang had a severe cocaine problem in the 1980s, which led to his problems with the State Bar.

“He went to court with no shoes on,” which led a judge to refer the matter to the State Bar, Fitzgerald said.

The State Bar suspended Lang’s license in June, 1987, but a spokeswoman was not able to provide details about the disciplinary action because records were unavailable.

Lang claimed to have overcome his drug problem and had petitioned the State Bar for reinstatement. But Fitzgerald said the petition was withdrawn more than a year ago when it appeared that the criminal case against Lang was moving forward.

Lang was arrested June 26, 1990, when Los Angeles police served a search warrant at his Yarmouth Avenue apartment, where investigators recovered about 4 1/2 ounces of cocaine.

Frank Herrera, a Canoga Park resident who was prosecuted along with Lang, had more than three pounds of cocaine in his apartment when he was arrested the same day, police reported. Herrera told authorities that he had just paid Lang $795 for drugs, but police believe that Herrera had evolved into Lang’s supplier, Mintz said.

A third man reported buying an ounce of cocaine from Lang. Luis Vallejo of Van Nuys, who was arrested at the same time as Lang and Herrera, told police that “Big Jim, the lawyer, just sold me an ounce of cocaine,” according to the Probation Department report.

Herrera and Vallejo, who also pleaded guilty to drug charges, are scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 6 by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Bascue, who sentenced Lang.