A former Lake Ozark city prosecutor/lake area attorney is on a six-month suspension after pleading guilty to official misconduct.
The Missouri Supreme Court has issued a ruling to suspend Warren Steven Rives’ license to practice law. The order was issued a year after he pleaded guilty in Shelby County to misdemeanor official misconduct.
The charge stems from an investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol into allegations of criminal wrongdoing when Rives was serving as municipal prosecutor.
Rives was contacted by a woman who had been arrested in July 2005 by the Lake Ozark Police Department for driving while intoxicated, failure to drive on the right half of the roadway and an open container violation.
According to court documents, she was referred to Rives by lake area attorney Clarence Hawk.
An argument filed with the court says the two attorneys are “longtime adversaries” and states the investigation was prompted by Hawk’s allegations of criminal misconduct.
The woman had first contacted Hawk after her arrest. Hawk suggested she contact Rives to limit incurring attorney’s fees. At the time, Rives was the prosecuting attorney for the city of Lake Ozark.
Hawk told the woman he believed Rives was taking money or sex in exchange for “resolving” traffic tickets, the court documents say.
The woman met with Rives and paid a total of $1,113.50 to take care of the tickets. The Missouri Highway Patrol interviewed the woman in November 2005, provided money to make the final payment and secretly taped their final two meetings as part of the investigation, documents say.
Rives filed a money order and guilty plea forms with the Lake Ozark court. The total amount paid to the city was $839.
When questioned by the Patrol about the discrepancy, Rives said the difference could have occurred due to poor bookkeeping or oversight.
The Patrol completed its investigation in February 2006. In October 2007, Rives pleaded guilty to official misconduct and was sentenced to pay a $500 fine and $274.50 to the city of Lake Ozark for restitution. He was fired by the city in February 2008.
When contacted by the Lake Sun, Rives declined to comment but referred questions to his attorney.
His license has been suspended until June 2, 2009.
Contact this reporter at charisp@lakesunleader.com