Assistant attorney general tied to foreclosure mill fired

The attorney general's office has fired Erin Cullaro, an assistant Florida attorney general reprimanded last year for moonlighting for a "foreclosure mill."

The termination follows a second reprimand in March from Gov. Rick Scott's office, which questioned variations of her signature on legal documents.

The signature that was used to notarize affidavits of "reasonable attorney fees" is not the same signature she was commissioned to use, according to a letter from Scott's office.

The April termination came from the office of Attorney General Pam Bondi. Jenn Meale, communications director for Bondi's office, said "when the management team reviewed its personnel, they decided to terminate (Cullaro's) employment." Meale offered no further explanation.

Ricardo A. Roig, a Tampa lawyer who represents Cullaro, said "there is no evidence of wrongdoing."

"There's no question Erin complied with the spirit and the letter of the law," Roig said. "There are differences in her signatures, but a lot of people change the way they sign their name."

Cullaro, who worked for the attorney general's Economic Crimes Division in Tampa, is a former employee of Tampa-based Florida Default Law Group and did notary work for the office after she was hired by the state.

Florida Default Law Group, which handles foreclosure for banks, is under investigation for what the attorney general's office calls possible fabricated and misleading documents in foreclosure cases.

Cullaro was given permission by the attorney general's office in April 2008 for dual employment, allowing her to notarize law firm documents for 15 minutes three days a week.

But according to the written reprimand, Cullaro failed to renew the application for the new fiscal year, "which would have alerted the (attorney general's office) to your continued outside employment and accurately reflected the time commitment involved."

In addition, the reprimand states, "your continued dual employment created an appearance of impropriety" because the attorney general's office was looking into the practices of foreclosure law firms.

Cullaro's notary signature varies widely from document to document, and she is accused of signing off on documents while on business trips for the attorney general's office.

Foreclosure defense attorneys have questioned in court documents whether Cullaro signed all the documents herself. Her signatures ranged from a full cursive signature to a squiggly "E," according to court documents reviewed by the Tribune. When she signed the reprimand letter, she used the "E."

sbehnken@tampatrib.com

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