North Haverhill
Gary J. Wood, who operated a law office on Pine Street in the village of Woodsville, faces a felony count of theft by misapplication of property.
He was disbarred this summer, according to documents on the state Bar Association’s website, for allegedly commingling and misappropriating clients’ funds.
According to his Martindale-Hubbell online profile, Wood earned a law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in 1980.
The indictment asserts Wood deposited $43,927 from the estate of Haverhill resident Irving W. Thayer, into his attorney trust account, at the request of the estate’s executor, Alan Rutherford, a Haverhill real estate appraiser and registered tax preparer.
Wood was supposed to later return the money to the estate but “recklessly” failed to make the payment “and treated the said funds as his own,” according to the indictment.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but rather a finding by a grand jury that there is sufficient evidence for a prosecutor to proceed with a criminal case.
In a telephone interview on Monday, Rutherford said he still hasn’t seen any of the money, which ultimately was to be distributed to Thayer’s heirs, including the farmer’s nieces.
Irene Fournier said she is frustrated that she and other relatives still don’t have the money her uncle left for them.
“I personally was very upset,” said Fournier, a former schoolmate of Wood’s. “It is very disheartening for me.”
Wood had been Thayer’s attorney for some time, providing legal work and helping him prepare and revise a will, Rutherford said.
Wood was only holding a portion of Thayer’s estate.
According to his obituary, Thayer grew up on a dairy farm on Briar Hill in Haverhill, eventually taking over Giant Elm Farm. He died in November 2014.
The phone at Wood’s law office was disconnected, and attempts to reach him on Monday were unsuccessful. New Hampshire court records don’t indicate who his attorney is.
Grafton County Attorney Lara Saffo declined to comment on the case.
According to the state Bar Association’s website, Wood came under scrutiny in November when he failed to file his annual trust accounting certificate, an auditing system that ensures attorneys either don’t possess any client’s assets or funds, or if they do, ensures the funds are held in compliance with Supreme Court rules.
Because he failed to produce the certificate, the Supreme Court in December suspended him from practicing law in New Hampshire.
The next month, the Supreme Court ordered Wood produce a second certificate, this time to show that he had completed and met minimum continuing education requirements for New Hampshire lawyers. Though he had never rectified his first suspension, the Supreme Court again suspended Wood from practicing.
In May, the Professional Conduct Committee, a board that works under the New Hampshire Supreme Court Attorney Discipline System, recommended to the court that Wood be disbarred.
The recommendation came after an auditor reviewed Wood’s attorney accounts and found that he “misappropriated client funds,” according to a Supreme Court order, published on the state Bar Association website on July 20.
“The audit demonstrated that attorney Wood misappropriated client funds in his possession, routinely paid himself before they were earned, commingled client funds with his own funds and operated his Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts with a deficit or out of trust,” the Supreme Court order reads.
Wood was formally disbarred on July 11.
Elizabeth Murphy of the Assistant Disciplinary Council said records indicate Wood had been in good standing prior to 2015.
He will be arraigned on the felony charge in Grafton Superior Court in North Haverhill on Sept. 12.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.