Barred Financial Planner Gets Probation In Assault Case

Dec. 08--Barred from the financial planning industry in May, an East Stroudsburg man was sentenced Tuesday to a one-year probationary intermediate punishment program after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct in an assault case.

Anthony Diaz, 47, must also take part in a two-week outmate community service program in connection with a May 12 fight between Diaz and contractor Mark Maggio at Diaz's Pocono Township office.

Diaz hired Maggio to replace drywall in the office. Maggio finished part of the repairs, with plans to complete the rest another day, and requested payment for the work he had finished.

Diaz refused to pay until all of the repairs were done. The two began arguing, with Diaz telling Maggio to sue him.

Since Diaz refused to pay him for the work he had done so far, Maggio began kicking holes in the section of drywall he had replaced. Diaz then grabbed Maggio and the two began fighting.

After a third man broke up the fight, Maggio left and went directly to the police station, showing redness, scratches, abrasions and a loose front tooth. Police noticed no redness or injuries on Diaz, but saw dust and dirt on his pants.

Diaz was charged with simple assault and cited for disorderly conduct and harassment. The simple assault charge and harassment citation were later dismissed when he agreed to plead guilty to the disorderly conduct citation.

Defense attorney Rory Driscole told the court Tuesday that Diaz had taken responsibility for his actions and agrees he should have handled the matter differently.

"The next time an unstable individual comes into my office and does damage, I'll call the police instead of engaging in a fight," Diaz said, speaking on his own behalf.

Given probation in a prior case involving an alleged assault on his 9-year-old daughter, Diaz said he has taken a parenting skills class and exceeded his number of required anger management sessions in that prior case.

Despite this, Diaz had been arrested multiple times in the past for alleged domestic assault, though he has never been convicted on any of those cases, and has a history of violating Protection From Abuse orders.

"It's a disturbing pattern," Higgins said. "And calling the victim 'an unstable individual' doesn't sound to me like you've truly taken responsibility for your actions."

As part of his sentence, Diaz was ordered to pay $2,021 in restitution covering Maggio's medical bills and time out from work.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's Department of Enforcement on May 27 accepted an offer of settlement barring Diaz from association with any FINRA firm in any capacity, though Diaz in the agreement does not admit or deny complaints against him.

Diaz, prior to the May 27 agreement, had been registered with 11 different financial firms since 2000. During that time, he'd been involved in 34 customer disputes and three regulatory events and had been terminated from employment at least five times, according to the FINRA.

He said Tuesday that he now works at Berkshire and Hathaway.

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