Leonard Japp was resilient. According to family legend, his snack food business started with a $50 investment in a truck in 1927 ($5 of which was a down payment, with the rest in monthly payments) to deliver pretzels. After suffering through, but surviving, the Great Depression, Japp’s Foods was almost done in by its unmarketable name in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. When the family business was sold in 1986, Jays Potato Chips, O-KE-DOKE popcorn, Krunchers! and Hot Stuff snacks were some of Chicago’s favorites. Then, at age 90, Mr. Japp and his children bought the company back and restarted the business in 1994.

When Leonard Japp died in 2000, he left his entire estate to his third wife, Janice. His grandson Steven Japp was surprised, and hired an attorney to review the estate plan and circumstances, and the attorney quickly found and interviewed Milko Mitov, a caretaker who had worked for the senior Mr. Japp for over a year during the period when changes were being made to the estate plan. Mr. Mitov talked freely with the attorney, and provided what seemed to be valuable information for any contest based on allegations of undue influence.

After a lawsuit was filed challenging Mr. Japp’s estate plan, Mr. Mitov suddenly became difficult to deal with. He demanded that the lawyers pay $100,000 for his testimony, and then upped the price to double that amount. He insisted that if money was not transferred to a Bulgarian radio station before his deposition, he would suddenly forget everything about the case and be unable to speak English when questioned.

Without Mr. Mitov’s information the case became much more difficult, and of course the lawyers could not pay him for favorable testimony. Even as they worked to settle the lawsuit over Mr. Japp’s estate plan, the lawyers were talking to the United States Attorney’s office about Mr. Mitov. After several telephone calls and meetings between Mr. Mitov and Steven Japp were tape-recorded, the prosecutors charged Mr. Mitov with attempted extortion.

Mr. Mitov had told the attorneys not to try to tell him that it would be illegal to pay him for his testimony. “Everyone takes money in the United States,” insisted Mr. Mitov. The Federal District Court Judge and the jury hearing his criminal case disagreed, and he was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison.

The Federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Mr. Mitov’s conviction and sentence. Regardless of Mr. Mitov’s mistaken view that corruption is rampant in the United States legal system, said the appellate court, demanding money for his testimony was an attempt at extortion and the punishment was appropriate. United States v. Mitov, August 21, 2006.

Would you like to subscribe to Elder Law Issues? Simply provide your e-mail address and name below, and click "Subscribe". At the same time, you may choose to also subscribe to The Voice, the newsletter of the Special Needs Alliance.

Privacy note: We do not ever use your e-mail address or name for any purpose other than to send out our subscription-based newsletter. You can rest assured that we will not sell, trade or share this information with any other person or entity. We have no ancillary or associated companies or entities to which we could provide your e-mail address, either.

© 1993-2008 Fleming & Curti, P.L.C.
520-622-0400 /  FAX: 520-203-0240