BRAD ZACKSON

343 TACONIC RD.

GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT 06831

Attorney Disciplinary / Grievance Committee for the First Department

61 Broadway, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10006

Re: Kenneth McCallion and McCallion & Associates, LLP

100 Park Ave #1600
New York, NY 10017

Gentlemen:

This is a formal complaint against Kenneth McCallion and McCallion & Associates, LLP
(hereinafter, jointly and severally, the “McCallion Attorneys”), regarding their unethical,
dishonest, irresponsible and improper actions and motivations in the service of themselves, and
their notorious Ukrainian client, Yulia Tymoshenko. I file this formal complaint on my own
behalf, without the benefit of legal counsel. I request that this Esteemed Committee conduct a
thorough investigation and hearing of the McCallion Attorneys and take appropriate disciplinary
action against each of them. I am prepared to fully cooperate with such investigation and hearing
to see to it that Justice is done.

I was a defendant in an action that the McCallion Attorneys brought against me and others in the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entitled Tymoshenko v.
Firtash (Case No. 11-CV-2794). This case was in front of Judge Kimba M. Wood, who is a
well-respected Judge. In that lawsuit, the McCallion Attorneys accused me of participating in a
massive fraud. They falsely accused me of participating in a money laundering scheme whereby
I and other defendants used a business deal to purchase the Drake Hotel located in New York
city as a cover for a host of criminal wrongdoing, including money laundering. They falsely
stated that wire transfers into this country for the Drake Hotel acquisition (including a
$25,000,000 wire transfer) were the key to the money laundering.

Even though Judge Wood dismissed the complaint – after three separate amendments to the
complaint - the McCallion Attorneys continue to willfully attack and damage my reputation,
name, standing in the real estate industry, community and the World, without one shred of
evidence to support the outrageous charges and claims that they have made against me. The
actions which I shall describe have directly and indirectly 1) adversely affected my career in the
real estate industry, my reputation, and my family, and 2) run counter to the judicial history of
the matters, and 3) most importantly, defy the facts. A copy of the Judge Wood’s last decision
dated September 18, 2015 is attached as Exhibit “1”.
I find it hard to believe that this Honorable Committee can or should permit attorneys to malign
and slander innocent persons without suffering any consequences. I do not believe that the Rules
of Ethics by which attorneys are guided permit the McCallion Attorneys to continue their
vendetta against me. I respectfully ask this Honorable Committee to open an investigation as to
whether the McCallion Attorneys’ continued attack on me after Judge Wood dismissed their
complaint against me – not once, not twice, but four times – violates the Rules of Ethics, and to
punish the McCallion Attorneys for their violation of the Rules of Ethics.

Essentially, the McCallion Attorneys have lied about me, lied about the matters at issue, and
continue to publish and republish in book form, blogs, articles and social media, the same untrue
and unprovable allegations of wrongdoing that they attempted, to no avail, to prosecute in a
Federal Court, which allegations could not be supported after multiple attempts at pleading,
leading to the outright dismissal of the claims.

Let me be clear. The McCallion Attorneys, while purporting to represent a notorious client, are
engaged in cringeworthy self-promotion to enhance their law practice and to sell books.

The context is that I, as a real estate developer, was engaged in a venture with Paul Manafort,
who is well known to this Honorable Committee, to acquire the Drake Hotel. The third person in
the real estate venture was noted and highly-regarded real estate billionaire, Arthur G. Cohen.
Arthur has since passed away, but if he were here, he would be a co-signor to this letter. Arthur
was a gentleman, a philanthropist and a man committed to the people of New York City and that
was the motivation for the real estate venture that brought the three of us together. Arthur wanted
to save the site of the Drake Hotel for the people of New York City. The Drake Hotel acquisition
was a typical New York real estate project, which required a team of professionals…including
several top real estate law firms…and many real estate experts. Please see the Dynamic’s Drake
Contact List attached as Exhibit “2” and please understand that the McCallion Attorneys, in
attacking the bona fides of the Drake Hotel acquisition, have attacked the integrity of every
person and firm on the list.

The McCallion Attorneys have accused me of participating in a massive fraud. They falsely state
that the Drake Hotel acquisition was a cover-up for a host of criminal wrongdoing, including
money laundering. They falsely state that wire transfers into this country for the Drake Hotel
acquisition (including a $25,000,000 wire transfer) were the key to the money laundering. They
care not that there were NO such wire transfers, as confirmed by an email from noted real estate
attorney, Andrew Albstein, Esq. of the law firm of Goldberg, Weprin, Finkel Goldstein, LLP.
Please see the email attached as Exhibit “3.”

Paul Manafort, of course, was and still is the lightening rod. The McCallion Attorneys, on behalf
of their notorious client, and to line their own pockets, attacked Paul Manafort as complicit in the
political and criminal complications that Tymoshenko experienced and from which she suffered
in the Ukraine. The attack on Paul Manafort centered on claims that he was engaged in money
laundering of funds originating in Russia through our Drake Hotel venture, and that our venture
was a total sham and scheme. The attack by the McCallion Attorneys was entirely false from the
outset, which the McCallion Attorneys could have known had they sought information from
Arthur, or from me, or from the dozens of highly-regarded law firms, architectural firms, and
other experts, who were engaged in the effort to purchase the Drake Hotel. But the truth did not
fit their strategy and, therefore, they shied away from the truth. The Exhibits attached are merely
the tip of the iceberg; I have dozens of documents on the Drake Hotel transaction which I will
willingly share with the Committee upon request. They show the Drake Hotel acquisition, which
ultimately was unsuccessful, to have been proper in every way.

The false allegations were based, in part, on a previously dismissed complaint filed with the
NYS labor board by a disgruntled broker, Scott Snizek. Furthermore, it is believed that the
McCallion Attorneys filed the original and amended complaints on behalf of Scott Snizek,
without a signed affidavit from him and without his informed consent and approval. Eight years
later, the McCallion Attorneys circulated in the media the complaint in the dismissed case for
their own promotion and benefit, prompting Scott Snizek to send them the following letter
demanding that they cease and desist. Please see the email attached as Exhibit “4.”

Again, I want to be clear. I am lodging this formal complaint against the McCallion Attorneys
because they have acted, and continue to act, in an unethical, dishonest and improper manner,
which damages me, discredits the legal profession and is an affront to the Federal Court. I work
with attorneys every single day and I have faith and trust in attorneys and respect their ethical
duties. The McCallion Attorneys are a different breed, a lower form, who are selling books and
seeking publicity and attempting to capitalize on anti-Manafort, anti-Trump sentiment, and
playing to a false premise that the Drake Hotel transaction was a criminal enterprise.

This formal complaint is not intended to be a political statement. Undoubtedly, however, it will
be read as support for Mr. Manafort and for President Trump. I would prefer that this formal
complaint be read as supporting the truth and the need to discipline errant members of the legal
profession when they pursue lies to sell books, to fill their blog, to create publicity for
themselves, or even when they posture that they are advancing the interests of a client. Former
Vice President Biden often says that facts matter. They do.

The McCallion Attorneys’ false narrative fits nicely with the fact that, like many other New York
real estate professionals, I trained under Fred Trump and worked with Donald Trump, but later
also fiercely competed against the Trump Organization on a variety of projects. Again, my
training has nothing to do with the false narrative. The McCallion Attorneys have severely
misled and lied to the media, the public, Judges and the Court system, about me and my business
affairs, have repeatedly libeled me, have purported to assert false and frivolous claims against me
(which no Court would hear, and which have been dismissed), and have done so with full
knowledge that they possessed no evidence to support their charges. Their conduct is worse than
frivolous.

Please forgive my layman’s presentation, but it seems to me that your Honorable Committee
investigates and punishes these violations, and I ask you to do so.

I note that NEW YORK STATE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM, PART 1200, RULES OF
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT, enacted January 1, 2017, and the prior rules, which they
superseded, prohibit the conduct of which I complain.
For example, regarding the civil litigation in which the McCallion Attorneys were unsuccessful,
Rule 3.6 prohibits:

(a) A lawyer who is participating in or has participated in a criminal or civil matter from making
an extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated
by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially
prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter, and

(b) A statement ordinarily is likely to prejudice materially an adjudicative proceeding when it

refers to a civil matter triable to a jury, a criminal matter or any other proceeding that could
result in incarceration, and the statement relates to: (1) the character, credibility, reputation or
criminal record of a party, suspect in a criminal investigation or witness, or the identity of a
witness or the expected testimony of a party or witness; (2) in a criminal matter that could result
in incarceration, the possibility of a plea of guilty to the offense or the existence or contents of
any confession, admission or statement given by a defendant or suspect, or that person’s refusal
or failure to make a statement; (3) the performance or results of any examination or test, or the
refusal or failure of a person to submit to an examination or test, or the identity or nature of
physical evidence expected to be presented; (4) any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of a
defendant or suspect in a criminal matter that could result in incarceration; (5) information the
lawyer knows or reasonably should know is likely to be inadmissible as evidence in a trial and
would, if disclosed, create a substantial risk of prejudicing an impartial trial; or (6) the fact that a
defendant has been charged with a crime, unless there is included therein a statement explaining
that the charge is merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and
unless proven guilty.

RULE 4.1. titled “Truthfulness In Statements To Others” states that: In the course of
representing a client, a lawyer shall not knowingly make a false statement of fact or law to a
third person.

RULE 4.4. titled “Respect for Rights of Third Persons” states that: (a) In representing a client, a
lawyer shall not use means that have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass or harm a
third person or use methods of obtaining evidence that violate the legal rights of such a person.

I do not know all the applicable rules and standards of professional conduct, but it is clear to me
that these have been breached or wholly ignored by the McCallion Attorneys.

On behalf of their client, Yulia Tymoshenko, the former PM of Ukraine who was jailed in 2009,
the McCallion Attorneys represented a client who was the subject of cases alleging criminal
activities including, bribery, wire fraud, money laundering and murder. She was a central figure
in Ukraine’s “Gas Wars” and Mr. Manafort was then and is her arch enemy. For example, see the
following:

https://www.scribd.com/document/88429721/TYMOSHENKO-WANTED-BY-INTERPOL-
United-States-of-America-vs-Pavel-Lazarenko
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/07/business/international/a-ukrainian-kleptocrat-wants-his-
money-and-us-asylum.html

https://archive.org/stream/TymoshenkoImplicatedInCrimesByUsaFederalProsecutor/TYMOSHE
NKOatUSACourtofLaw_djvu.txt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Energy_Systems_of_Ukraine

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/exclusive-uk-banks-in-row-over-yulia-
tymoshenko-millions-9177693.html

http://www.thedailybeast.com/yulia-tymoshenko-shes-no-angel

While the McCallion Attorneys were representing Yulia Tymoshenko, they were also
representing friends and associates of Yulia Tymoshenko in other cases. In a published book and
in their law firm blog, they position themselves as “expert” on Russia/Trump alleged money
laundering. They (Kenneth McCallion in particular) appeared on media outlets, (USA TODAY,
CNN, New York Times) and wrote a book in 2016 about the President, Mr. Manafort, Mr.
Cohen and me. The McCallion Attorneys, crass publicity-seekers, seem to have worked
extensively with the media to circulate their lies. See these references in the press and on his blog
(but there are others):

http://blog.mccallionlaw.com/the-indictment-of-paul-manafort-can-be-expected-shortly/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/28/trump-business-past-ties-russian-
mobsters-organized-crime/98321252/

http://blog.mccallionlaw.com/manafort-and-trump-a-perfect-match/
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/business/international/ukrainian-gas-broker-faces-
scrutiny.html

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1703/29/cnnt.02.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/kenneth-f-mccallion-trump-real-estate-built-corruption-
article-1.2856797

The McCallion Attorneys worked with journalist, Ken Silverstein, to attack me. See
http://washingtonbabylon.com/735-2/

Ken Silverstein wrote that “…Firtash made billions…he and Manafort partnered to buy the site
of the old Drake Hotel on Park Avenue. With a longtime Trump family aide and the developer
Arthur Cohen, Manafort and Firtash hatched a grand plan. They called their project the Bulgari
Tower, and it would feature a mall, private club, and spa. Or at least that’s what they described in
their plans. In 2008, Firtash wired $25 million to New York to bankroll the project. According to
court documents, he also set up a $100 million investment fund, paying Manafort and his
partners a $1.5 million fee for managing the money.” “As for Bulgari Tower, the project
sputtered and shuttered in January 2009. Yulia Tymosehnko didn’t like the smell of things. She
sued Manafort and Firtash for racketeering in the Southern District of New York. “The money
kept going in and out,” her lawyer Kenneth McCallion told me. “Real estate was the ostensible
reason for sending money to New York. But they never wanted to close on the project, they
wanted to keep the cash liquid, so it could keep going back to Ukraine.” Silverstein admits that
“…the suit never had much of a chance, because it didn’t offer enough supporting evidence to
justify its grandiose claim…”

As I am not an attorney, I will refer this Esteemed Committee to the docket in United Stated
District Court: Southern District, 11 civ 2794 KMW. The case was dismissed on September 18,
2015 (see the Opinion and Order annexed as Exhibit “1”), but that did not stop the McCallion
Attorneys from publishing a book in 2016 titled “The Essential Guide to Donald Trump (And
Why I am Sailing to Nova Scotia if He Wins)” in which he repeats his untrue and venomous lies
about me. The McCallion Attorney lies have gone viral since the President’s election, with
hundreds of thousands of retweets on twitter alone, with my name. See for example,
http://blog.mccallionlaw.com/the-fbi-confirm-that-it-already-has-an-ongoing-investigation-of-
trump-and-his-russian-connections/

The book features many lies about me in Chapter 8, starting at page 93 and ending on page 98.
The book cover and the relevant pages and Chapter 8 Notes at the end of the book are annexed as
Exhibit “5.” Noteworthy, is the fact that the Notes at the end do not cite to any source material to
support any of the outrageous charges made against me. Ken McCallion is the author of this
contrived book which is filled with lies, and which purports to have citation to material…but
there is none. The McCallion Attorneys repeatedly print the same lies about me in their law firm
blog.

I close this formal complaint by asking this Honorable Committee to forgive any errors of
presentation, and for not constructing a more comprehensive case with more Exhibits. The truth
is that the media is replete with the untrue allegations against me, repeated over and over and
over again, by the McCallion Attorneys. A google search will reveal hundreds of them. I am not
an advocate; I am merely a private citizen with a wife (who is a Clinical Psychologist) and young
boys. Our family name is on the line. My reputation and livelihood is on the line. I have chosen
to not sue the McCallion Attorneys for damages. I prefer to not seek money. I seek Justice.

Thank you.

Respectfully

_______________
Brad Zackson