Former mayor denies OLR’s misconduct accusations

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Attorney James Gatzke, the former mayor of New Berlin, is denying accusations of misconduct pending against him.

The state Office of Lawyer Regulation in August filed a complaint seeking revocation of Gatzke’s law license. The agency alleges Gatzke, of Gatzke Law LLC, allegedly misappropriated and mishandled hundreds of thousands of dollars he was paid as an attorney to Patricia Schaeffer dating back to 2004.

This week Gatzke, through attorney Terry Johnson of Peterson, Johnson & Murray SC, denied wrongdoing while representing Schaeffer. In his response filed this week, he asked the state Supreme Court to dismiss the complaint.

Gatzke and Schaeffer, according to the embattled attorney and complaint, also were involved in several real estate ventures. Gatzke said Schaeffer made the accusations because she “lost money” in business ventures with him after the real-estate market’s downturn in 2006 and 2007.

The case was referred to an OLR referee Friday.

Gatzke served as mayor of New Berlin from 1997 and 2001.

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