Defense lawyer in hepatitis criminal case held in contempt

Defense attorney Frederick Santacroce isn’t starting off 2011 in the good graces of District Judge Donald Mosley.

In a rare judicial action, Mosley held Santacroce in criminal contempt Monday and fined him $100 for not showing up at a hearing the lawyer had requested in the criminal case over the hepatitis C outbreak.

Santacroce represents Ronald Lakeman, one of the nurse anesthetists charged in the outbreak with Dr. Dipak Desai.

Last month, Santacroce complained to Mosley that prosecutors and police weren’t providing him enough access to the evidence in the case.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Staudaher denied the allegation, but with the March 14 trial date approaching, Mosley set time on his calendar Monday to discuss the matter.

Santacroce, however, never made it to the 12th-floor courtroom at the Regional Justice Center, prompting the judge to issue the contempt order from the bench.

Mosley reset the hearing for Jan. 19 and said he would issue tougher sanctions if Santacroce failed to show up again.

Santacroce did not inform Mosley or his bailiff ahead of time that he couldn’t make Monday’s court date.

But just prior to the hearing, a reporter saw him getting on a 12th-floor elevator heading somewhere else in the courthouse.