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Ex-Bridgeport mayor Joseph Ganim seeks to regain law license

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A state official said Tuesday that Joseph Ganim, the former Bridgeport mayor, should not get his law license back because he has not expressed remorse for his crimes.

But Ganim's lawyer said there was overwhelming evidence to show he was fit to practice law again.

Patricia King, chief disciplinary counsel for the state, objected to Ganim's request before a three-judge panel in Bridgeport Superior Court. She cited Ganim's testimony earlier to a state committee of lawyers that recommended that Ganim have his law license restored. ''There was no expression of remorse from Mr. Ganim during his testimony and no explanation of the actual misconduct itself,'' King said.

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The judges did not make an immediate ruling. Ganim declined to comment.

Ganim lost his law license after being convicted in 2003 of 16 federal counts, including bribery, for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in expensive wine, custom clothes, cash, and home improve­ments. He served seven years in prison.

Judge Julia Dewey said most of the letters written in support of Ganim did not focus on his conviction. ''Other than treason, what can be worse than perjury and bribery?'' Dewey asked.

Ganim's lawyer, Harold Rosnick, urged the judges to consider Ganim's entire life. He said the committee that concluded he was fit to return to practicing law was made up of highly regarded lawyers who considered all the evidence.

''The evidence was overwhelming that there has been and continues to be good in Joe Ganim,'' ­Rosnick said, adding that Ganim is trustworthy.

Ganim has worked as a legal assistant at his family's law firm in Bridgeport since being released from prison.