With something akin to glee the Post brings us the alternately colorful and shady life story of Deborah Jeane Palfrey’s attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley this morning. At times, even DCist has wondered how Sibley, who represents the alleged madam in her civil case, could possibly be giving her responsible counsel. Besides allowing his client to give an interview with ABC news, sell off phone records to the highest bidder, tape a five-hour radio interview and release rambling statements online, Sibley is also becoming a local celebrity in his own right.
Sibley’s family pedigree is steeped in Washington history. The best way to understand it is this: imagine everything you’ve ever seen with the moniker “Montogomery” or “Blair” in the metro area; that’s all named after his ancestors. Sibley’s legacy hasn’t stopped him from taking on controversial cases. In Florida he defended a man known as “Big Pimping Pappy” on, you guessed it, pimping charges. In connection to that case, the Florida bar found him guilty of being a “vexatious litigant” and sought to suspend or even disbar Sibley. WaPo details his further legal problems:
Something is amiss here, and we haven’t even gotten to the part where he sued the U.S. Supreme Court for treason (twice!), asking for $1 million in damages. Or that he spent 77 days in a Miami jail for refusing to pay child support. Or that Maryland has stopped him from running a law office in the state. Or that federal prosecutors in Palfrey’s case say Sibley’s filings are so ignorant of basic legal tenets that they are “almost incoherent.”
The tale of Sibley’s shell offices on K St. and in Rockville round out this new take on Palfrey’s legal battle. This story has taken DCist on a roller coaster ride of excitement, disgust, disappointment and cringing fascination. When Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias resigned last week after admitting to patronizing Pamela Martin and Associates, the case seemed to gain steam. Now, new reports detail concerns that Palfrey may flee to avoid prosecution and skyrocketing national interested in the case, it looks like the story isn’t likely to fade away anytime soon. Though we heard yesterday that 20/20‘s report will be a bit of a bust, we’ll still be watching with a glass of wine, scorecard, and an eye on Montgomery Blair Sibley.
Photo by Flickr user _Tracey_.
