Brydon seeks change
The Butler attorney who stole more the $544,000 from three clients is asking a judge to reconsider his prison sentence and instead assign him to house arrest.
Butler County Judge William Shaffer plans to hear the request made by Samuel Joseph “Joe” Brydon, 58, of Slippery Rock on Friday, which is the same day Brydon is scheduled to report to prison.
Brydon, a once prominent attorney who held a quasi-judicial role as the county’s juvenile court master, took money from three estates he had been hired privately to settle in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
Brydon pleaded guilty to three counts of felony theft, and on Aug. 19 Shaffer sentenced him to serve 9 to 18 months in prison, 15 years of probation and 600 hours of community service.
But Brydon’s defense attorney, Michael Jewart of Butler, has filed a request asking Shaffer to switch the jail time to house arrest, saying that Brydon needs to be able to work to earn money to support his wife and to repay what he borrowed from relatives to give to the victims.
Since his disbarment, Brydon has worked as a paralegal for attorney Kathryn Linn-Stevenson, who took over Brydon’s practice.
“The victims have been harmed, but at the same time, the defendant repaid the victims over a year before sentencing; and finally, the defendant has demonstrated his heartfelt remorse and regret for his actions and has undertaken counseling on his own,” Jewart wrote.
First Assistant District Attorney Patricia McLean, who prosecuted the case, disagrees that the victims were repaid long ago. She said one of the victims still is owed $76,000. And she noted that the victims lost more than money due to this theft, including other financial issues and harm to family relations.
“Repayment can never repair the damage that was caused,” McLean said.
She declined to comment on how she will respond to Brydon’s request for house arrest, saying it is a pending matter that will be addressed in court.
If Shaffer does not approve Brydon’s request for house arrest, Jewart’s request goes on to alternatively ask the judge to permit Brydon to be eligible for work release while in prison. And Brydon would like to be released from prison to work 60 hours a week, which is 20 hours more than the Butler County Prison allows without a special court order.
Jewart’s written request asks for this “due to the nature of his occupation and the amount of money owed to the individuals who supported him and helped make the victims whole.”
Jewart could not be reached for comment.
Brydon, who had been an attorney since 1982, at the time of his arrest had been the juvenile court master for more than 10 years. In that role he presided over delinquency matters.
He also previously worked as a county detective, a probation officer and a part-time district attorney for domestic relations.
