Land Title

JUST BECAUSE the criminal justice system catches, convicts and sentences a swindler does not necessarily mean the thief's victims will be compensated.People can spend years filing lawsuits, obtaining court judgments and trying to collect, and still not get everything -- or anything -- owed them. Sometimes, the money disappears; often it is impossible to find.That is why it is hard for victims to get much satisfaction when someone admits in court to stealing money from them, particularly when the thefts come at vulnerable times.

Several real estate-related issues will come before the legislature this session, among them bills dealing with title companies and the seller disclosure law.-! The session begins Wednesday.Title companiesDel. Michael E. Busch, D-Anne Arundel, chairman of the House Economic Matters Committee, said he plans to offer a bill to close a loophole that allows title insurance agents who have stolen clients' escrow money to continue working in the field.Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr., who also is planning to draft legislation, may seek to have title insurance agents and brokers post a higher bond than is now required.

The trial of the Ellicott City title agent accused of taking more than $1.1 million from his clients has been postponed because the agent, Joseph E. Goldberg Sr., says he cannot afford his private attorney.Goldberg was to stand trial tomorrow on charges he stole or misappropriated money entrusted to his business in what is alleged to be one of the largest insurance fraud schemes in Maryland history.But in a recent hearing in Howard County Circuit Court, Goldberg asked to be represented by a public defender because he does not have the money to hire his own.A motion filed by his former attorney, Michael A. Zwaig, says representing Goldberg without adequate compensation would put extreme financial hardship on Zwaig's Towson law practice.

Joseph E. Goldberg Sr., under state investigation for $2.3 million missing from his now-defunct settlement company and on the run from creditors, has emerged long enough to file a suit accusing his estranged wife and seven of her relatives of theft.Among the items he claims they stole from his houses in Howard County and Western Maryland: an in-ground pool, a Jacuzzi, AK-47 assault-style rifles and 4,000 rounds of ammunition.Mr. Goldberg, 41, contends in the suit that he has "lost the quiet, comfort, solace and enjoyment of his property" and as a result now suffers from "severe depression."

A headline in some editions of The Sun yesterday improperly identified prosecutors seeking a jail sentence for convicted embezzler Joseph E. Goldberg Sr. The prosecutors were from the state attorney general's office. Also, the crime was 'u investigated by the Insurance Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration, along with the Criminal Investigation Division of the attorney general's office.The Sun regrets the errors.A former Ellicott City property title agent pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing nearly $1 million in what state prosecutors said was one of the largest scams of its kind in Maryland history.

NEW YORK -- Surprise, surprise. Evander Holyfield chose The Bully over The Belly.In an announcement that shocked much of the boxing world, baffled and bemused George Foreman and enraged Bob Arum, representatives for the undisputed heavyweight champion reached agreement yesterday for a scheduled 12-round fight between Holyfield and former champion Mike Tyson Nov. 8 at Caesars Palace.The fight is expected to be the richest in boxing history, and it will have to be to pay the fighters their guaranteed purses: $30 million for Holyfield and $15 million for Tyson, with hefty percentages of pay-per-view television receipts tacked on. The purses for both are the highest ever paid to a champion and challenger, as well as the highest amounts paid to any athletes for a single performance.

The St. Mary's boys lacrosse team's long-awaited debut in the Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference final ended in frustration Friday at UMBC.The Saints (12-4 overall, 8-4 league) bowed to upstart St. Paul's, 9-8.The Saints, who defeated the Crusaders, 10-6, in their regular-season meeting April 30, were in position to force the game into overtime in the waning seconds, but lost the handle when it counted most.Trailing by a goal with 37 seconds remaining, the Saints had one last opportunity to score.

The Atlantic Coast Conference will hold its first football championship game in Jacksonville, Fla., the league announced yesterday. The city beat out six others for the honor, including Baltimore, which was considered a long shot to land the game. ACC faculty representatives unanimously chose Jacksonville over Charlotte, N.C., Miami, Orlando, Fla., Baltimore, Tampa, Fla., and Washington in a conference call Wednesday. The agreement calls for Jacksonville to host the game in 2005 and 2006, with the league holding an option to keep the game there in 2007 and 2008.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Fifteen minutes after the New York Jets' historic victory yesterday over the Buffalo Bills -- a division-clinching win that took 29 years to script -- Bill Parcells stood before his delirious players and started to deliver the speech his nine predecessors never got to make.Just one problem: Parcells -- the big, bad and brilliant coach who rescued the Jets from oblivion two years ago -- couldn't get the words out. He choked up, pausing for almost two minutes. The awkward and emotional silence caused many players to fight back their own tears.

When is a skirt not just a skirt?When Ally McBeal wears it.Then it symbolizes many things: Feminism run amok. Bad fashion. Unbridled sexuality. Anorexia.Her minis -- which have crept up an inch this season -- take center stage on "Ally McBeal" on Monday (Fox, 9 p.m.) when the title character's penchant for thigh-high style lands her in contempt of court.But it's not just Ally's apparel that gets fans, critics and TV judges talking. The very existence of this strange single lawyer -- and her offbeat world of unisex bathrooms, dancing babies and colleagues nicknamed Biscuit -- seems to stimulate, aggravate, entertain and inspire.