As you get older, you can look back and remember people who taught you lessons in life, and you tend not to forget them. For me, Ken Orrock was one of those people, and his name popped up in the news today:
Kenneth Orrock was Bennett County state’s attorney before being charged in federal court for failing to collect and remit payroll taxes from 2011 through 2015. The charges didn’t relate to his practice of law, but to his security company, called Black Hills Patrol. He was given a five-year probation sentence and ordered to pay $280,000 in restitution after pleading guilty. He was released from probation after three years.
On Wednesday, Orrock appeared before the state Supreme Court in Pierre to ask for limited readmission to the bar. The bar’s disciplinary board heard from Orrock earlier this year and recommended readmission on several conditions, among them limiting Orrock’s practice to criminal law and requiring him to retake and pass the bar exam.
Read that here at South Dakota Searchlight.
That’s a name I remember, as it was the first, and maybe the only bad debt I’ve had to write off in my postcard business. Back in May of 2016, I had been been selling campaign materials for a while, and I was asked to design/print/mail a postcard for Orrock in his race for Bennett County State’s Attorney. Which when it came time for the bill, it was ignored. It wasn’t much, about $165, but after being ghosted long enough, as well as noting his legal troubles, you have to decide how much energy a person is going to put into trying to collect a $165 bill across the state.
I wrote that debt off over 7 years ago now, but the the lesson I learned sticks with me. Cash up front in political races if you don’t know the person. You’d think you could trust elected officials, but it turns out that there’s always one who spoils it for the rest.
Getting back to Orrock’s latest appearance in the news, if you read the article, his attorney Jim Sword is vouching for his “his growth as a person” since he got stomped on by the Federal court for failing to pay payroll taxes to the tune of $300k. But, the court isn’t so sure they agree..
Chief Justice Steven Jensen said it was clear to him that Orrock had done a great deal of work on himself since his conviction, but also asked about complaints from before the charges appeared in 2017. Orrock had seven complaints lodged against him, some of which were later expunged, with others leading to reprimand. That’s more than usual, Jensen said.
and..
His ability to act as a court-appointed attorney, however, could help relieve the burden caused in the Rapid City area by a dearth of criminal lawyers.
“Many of the court appointed attorneys that I’ve been able to speak to in the last several months have just been overwhelmed,” Orrock said. “As a matter of fact, one told me last week he’s stopping to take them because he can’t do it any more.”
The back and forth, as well as my own experience leads a person to ask, “are they really THAT hard up for attorneys in South Dakota?”
I wonder if his restitution has been paid. It is my understanding, the individual is liable for federal taxes if the business does not pay. If that is the case, it could allow him to pay back his victims (former security guard employees). However, you make a good point, what is stopping him from creating more victims in the process. The guy sounds like a bad apple all around.
If Dakota War College and Dakota Free Press are (generally) on the same page about an issue, you know the opposite view is wrong.