Lawyer-Judge May Be at Center of Land-Flip Fraud

A Garfield, N.J., lawyer who is also the town's judge may have played a central role in a scheme to defraud lenders by obtaining mortgages based on inflated appraisals of rundown properties. A state civil suit points to solo William Colacino Jr. as the lawyer referred to in a federal criminal case as "W.C.," an unindicted co-conspirator whose legal services, law office, attorney bank accounts and legal assistant were allegedly used in the scheme.