Pair arrested after telling lawyer jokes

[Cass]

The line leading into First District Court in Hempstead Monday morning was long and frustrating, but it was the punch line in a lawyer joke that got two rabble-rousing comedians arrested.



"How do you tell when a lawyer is lying?" Harvey Kash, 69, of Bethpage, said to Carl Lanzisera, 65, of Huntington, as the queue wound into the court. "His lips are moving," they said in unison, completing one of what may be thousands of standard lawyer jokes.



But while that rib and several others on barristers got some giggles from the crowd, the attorney standing in line about five people ahead wasn't laughing.



" 'Shut up,' the man shouted," Lanzisera said. "'I'm a lawyer.'"



The attorney reported Kash and Lanzisera to court personnel, who arrested the men and charged them with engaging in disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.



"They put the handcuffs on us, brought us into a room, frisked us, sat us down and checked our driver's licenses to see if there were any warrants out for our arrest," Lanzisera said yesterday. "They were very nasty, extremely nasty."



Court jesters



Harvey Kash and Carl Lanzisera poked fun of lawyers while in line at First District Court in Hempstead yesterday - but court officers weren't laughing. Here are some of the jokes that got them in hot water:



Q: What do you say to a lawyer with an IQ of 50?



A: Good morning, Your Honor.



Q: How do you tell if a lawyer is lying?



A: His lips are moving.



Q: Why do they bury lawyers 100 feet into the ground?



A: Because down deep, they're good people.



Q: What's the difference between a vulture and a lawyer?



A: Wing tips.



Full Story