Michael Carbajal's suit claims that his signature on the check is a forgery.
Other records show that on the day before Florence collected his firm's legal retainer, Michael's signature appeared on a document issued by LPL Financial Services, a brokerage firm with offices in Phoenix. The signature afforded Danny "full trading authorization with privilege to withdraw money" from one of Michael's retirement accounts, an account that his attorney says has been depleted.
Again, Michael's lawsuit alleges that he never signed the document.
Attorney Susman won't be able to gather all the myriad financial records in this case for some time, so it isn't known yet if Danny siphoned the $30,000 retainer from Michael's LPL account for his legal fees.
But the sequence of events raises the question of how Michael Carbajal would have been able to pay a law firm to represent his brother when, just nine months later, in June 2006, he claimed to be indigent after his own grand jury indictment on a charge of beating up a former pal.
At the time, a county judge appointed two assistant public defenders to represent the one-time millionaire free of charge. A jury, by the way, later acquitted Michael.
One of the eight counts in Michael's lawsuit reveals the deeply personal side of this unfortunate and unexpected situation. It claims the three defendants have caused "Michael Carbajal to become impoverished, and caused him to involuntarily not be able to use or have access to his property. Destroying the family relationship was extreme, and . . . any reasonable member of the community would regard their conduct as evil and beyond all possible decency."
The previously unreported revelations are an appalling turn for an Arizona native who is universally considered one of the greatest athletes to come out of this state, in any sport.
A concurrent New Times analysis confirms that Danny Carbajal, his daughters, and others have worked as an intrafamilial crime syndicate for years.
One of their victims was Sally Carbajal.
Remarkably, the other victim has been Michael, the guy who spilled blood, sweat, and tears in the ring to unknowingly fund the scheme.
If he'd had the chance, Sally's divorce attorney surely would have proved that Danny had submitted forged quit-claim deeds to the County Recorder's Office to steal properties he'd officially owned with her, and had committed other crimes. (A quit-claim deed is a legal document that helps someone transfer property to another person.)
But Sally Carbajal never did have her day in court.
She was murdered in February 2005, just three days before going to trial against Danny.
Sally and her boyfriend, Gerry Best, were gunned down in the parking lot of a Phoenix apartment complex ("Family Secrets," June 23, 2005), in what police suspect was not a robbery gone bad but, more likely, an execution.
Detectives found papers related to Sally's divorce case strewn about the parking lot, where she died instantly after being shot in the back of the head at close range.
Danny Carbajal remains the chief suspect in Sally's unsolved murder.
An affidavit from a Phoenix homicide detective after the double murders said, "Sally has advised numerous persons that she is in fear of her life should Danny or either of her daughters locate her whereabouts."
Those people included her Phoenix divorce attorney, Ken Winsberg, who told New Times about speaking with Sally on the day before she died: "She told me, 'Danny will never let me get the money that's coming to me.' She was genuinely scared of getting murdered by him."
Danny Carbajal declined through his attorney, Sherry Bell, to comment for this story. He told New Times in 2005 that he had nothing to do with Sally's murder.
Because Sally was murdered before her divorce trial, Danny was allowed to maintain ownership of all the properties and money in the couple's retirement accounts, assets estimated at the time to be valued in the upper-six-figure range.
Those properties and retirement accounts are a main issue in Michael's civil suit.
New Times informed attorney Bell on the morning of October 29 about the lawsuit, which, she said, she hadn't heard about. She declined to comment specifically on the new allegations other than to say, "This entire case is so, so sad. A whole family is breaking apart."
Michael and Danny Carbajal haven't spoken in months and, according to people familiar with the situation, the strains inside the once-unified clan are palpable.
Regarding the tensions, a report filed by Phoenix police officer Timothy Redd on October 3 says he'd contacted a member of the Carbajal family "in reference to report [of] threats. [The man] stated after consideration he didn't want to make a report for he is afraid of . . . Danny Carbajal. [He] stated, 'You have no idea what he is capable of doing,' and, 'It's fucked-up what he did to Michael since Mike was the one taking all the punches.'"
The family member also told the officer that "he does not want to get involved and have to take sides in the family."
But it shouldn't have to come down to taking sides. That historically penny-wise Michael Carbajal apparently is tapped out should be enough for anyone to ask the obvious questions: How and why?
mikael..keep your head up brother. Its a real shame your own blood did this to you.like i told you in your face...you have always been my idol, long before we met. and im proud of you and lucky to have shaken your hand that made you a true champion. arturo carrasco sr.
how much sympathy can anyone really have for Michael. He is not a victim in this case. Do you think Danny didn't get paid for training? Come on people, your not that dumb. Danny has to have his own money and so did Michael. this shows how blinded fans can get when someone they admire makes bad decisions. Michael tries to use the sympathy of his fans, which are limited now. If you look at Michael's history with police and his violent , loud behavior you will see that he is not the innocent man that never spend any money he claims to be. It's sad he is using his fans admiration to go against his brother. Those two were so close that I believe Michael knew where all of his money was going. You can't fool this ex-fan.
Hey Maria Sanchez you got a big mouth and if you knew the truth you wouldnt be commenting like that..... danny have you believing he is not guilty.... Michael is my uncle and i know the truth i see and witness so do your research before opening your FAT mouth.... you were never a fan because a true fan would stick by his side... i am telling you this so you're not having Michael as the "bad guy"..........
Hey DUMB IDIOT, you are as stupid as your uncle. I heard all about his faggot ass. He was picking up a hooker on Van Buren by your hood and found out it was a man. He liked the man but the pimp beat up your uncle cause he did'nt want to pay. Hell nah, that's low and I think Maris has a point and sounds a lot more smarter than you. You need to research about you uncle on Vanburen. Sounds like he is a bad guy...sorry.
Wow, what a sad sad story...too many times things like this happen in families and it just shows that blood is not thicker than water...to stab your own brother in the back...how does he look at himself everyday..very sad for Michael...I hope he find happiness, God Bless.
I've met Michael several times at Mecca Lounge (now razed). when he got drunk, he became abusive. i guess that was why he always had friends who drank with him(he bought). If you're stupid enough to be taken, then you get taken. Danny saw an easy score and took it. you can meet Danny now at that bar on 16th street drinking Michelobs with Mike's money.
Danny and Michael were the men who taught me how to really throw a punch. They trained me for some time in the jr. middleweight division at the 9th st. gym. It was the best experience of my life and im truly saddened by this whole incident cause i talked to them about fighting all the time cause i always looked up to them. I feel sorry for michael and what he is going through, i pray for him and the family. god bless, AKA Little Big Head.
I knew some of the Carbajal's and I remember when Angel would get of the Bus and walk down the street and he would buy Ice Cream for us. But to hear all of this is sad, especially for Michael and Mary. I looked at quit claim deed and Mary is spelled with two rr's and I think she would know how to spell her own name. The more stuff that comes out about Danny the more I suspect he is guilty of these heinous things. One thing though, Michael should have always kept his financial adviser, when it comes to money, it will tear even brothers with a strong bond apart. Michael should get on the wagon rebound and focus on training the next crop of Arizona champs.
Danny and his daughters ought to be ashamed of themselves. This boy needs to go away for a long, long time....Unbelivable
I was a big big fan of Michael's and remember all of your great stories on him and his family from way back when. I also read your story a few years ago about the murder and couldn't believe it. This is just so sad. I can see how Michael got taken for a ride because if you can't trust your brother, who can you trust? I hope he survives all this.
My family was there in the late '80's and our band, Side Effects, did some fund-raisers for Michael in 1987. We thought they were a class act, the whole Carbajal family. How sad this whole thing is! What I most hope for is that Sally gets vindicated. Michael will simply continue to live and may or may not get over it, but Sally, a domestic violence victim, doesn't even have that much.
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