Waynesburg attorney’s law license suspended for two years
Furmanek was involved in a romantic relationship with Washington Co. jail inmate
A Greene County attorney’s law license has been suspended after she engaged in a romantic relationship with a jail inmate she was representing and helped him listen into what was supposed to be a private conversation she was having with his new attorney.
The state Supreme Court on Thursday suspended Kimberly Ann Furmanek for two years after reviewing disciplinary proceedings held last year over the situation involving her relationship with the inmate at the Washington County jail in 2022.
The high court also ordered that Furmanek, 37, of Waynesburg, must apply for reinstatement as an attorney at the conclusion of her suspension and pay costs to the state Disciplinary Board.
Furmanek was charged with wiretapping in May 2022 after she was accused of placing two cellphones together so inmate John Lazear could listen in to her conversation with his new attorney, Jim Jeffries, over the handling of his case. Since jail conversations are taped, Jeffries unknowingly had his conversation with Furmanek recorded. Furmanek was charged with wiretapping, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct in August 2023 and was placed on probation.
Following that incident, Furmanek went through a two-day hearing in May 2024 in which a panel recommended sanctions against her to the state Disciplinary Board, which made its own recommendation of a two-year suspension in June. During that hearing, Furmanek admitted to being involved in a romantic relationship with Lazear.
“Furmanek has shown she is a threat to the Bar of this Commonwealth and she poses a danger to her clients as a result of her inability to separate her professional duties from her personal desires when representing her clients,” the state Disciplinary Court wrote in its unanimous recommendation to the high court. “The failure to comprehend the nature of her misconduct, accept responsibility, and demonstrate remorse, as well as her lack of credibility, bolster the need for a lengthy suspension of two years.”
However, Furmanek’s law license was temporarily suspended last August after she was arrested May 16, 2024 – less than a week after the hearing – and charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance and multiple drug counts after Waynesburg police said she was sitting in her parked car waiting to pick up her son from school at the bus stop. Those charges were later dropped in January after the manner in which her vehicle was searched was questioned.