Sam Krone

After a disbarment that lasted more than six years, Cody attorney and former state legislator Sam Krone has been reinstated to the Wyoming State Bar.

Krone’s law license had been suspended in 2016, after he was found to have stolen more than $9,600 from a Park County lawyers group.

However, the state Board of Professional Responsibility found this month that Krone had made a “compelling case” for reinstatement, saying he’d demonstrated he’d moved past the issues that led to his disbarment. In a Wednesday order, the Wyoming Supreme Court unanimously adopted the board’s recommendation and restored Krone’s ability to practice law.

He will be launching a solo practice in the coming months and began work as an assistant public defender on Monday.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Krone said in an interview.

After spending the last few years assisting families with behavioral health issues and working with teens struggling with drug and alcohol abuse, Krone told the bar that he wants to focus his practice on those who are indigent, underrepresented and youth.

“I have learned from mistakes, will not repeat those mistakes, and have a renewed sense of purpose to do good work,” Krone told the bar.

Compared to where he was years ago, the attorney said he has a completely different outlook.

“I definitely made mistakes that I took full responsibility for, paid a pretty heavy price, and I hope people can forgive me for those,” Krone told the Tribune. “Because I’ve tried to make amends as best I can.”

“I think that all that behavior’s in the past,” he added. “I’ve learned from it, I’m ready to move forward.”

Krone began practicing law in 2001 and joined the Park County Attorney’s Office as a deputy prosecutor in 2003. He became active in public service, serving on the Cody City Council and as a legislator, representing House District 24 from 2011 through 2016.

However, Krone was fired from the county attorney’s office in February 2016, after he sent a series of expletive-laden and demeaning text messages to a woman facing a DUI charge, including taunting her about the pending charge. Krone knew the woman personally and was not prosecuting the case himself, but his boss, County Attorney Bryan Skoric, called the messages “absolutely despicable” and inappropriate.

Then in April 2016, the Park County Bar Association reported to law enforcement that thousands of dollars appeared to have gone missing from its account. An investigation by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation ultimately concluded that Krone, who’d served as the group’s treasurer, had stolen $9,633.71. Krone initially said he would be exonerated and called it “suspicious” that the case was filed just ahead of the 2016 primary election, but he ultimately took responsibility, pleading guilty to one felony and one misdemeanor count of larceny.

“I am so sorry for this whole situation,” Krone said at an October 2017 sentencing hearing, apologizing to the bar association, the court and the State of Wyoming.

He paid full restitution, $845 in court fees and assessments, served 15 days in jail, 25 days of house arrest, 240 hours of community service and three years of supervised probation. Under a deferred prosecution agreement, the felony charge was dismissed in November 2020, after Krone successfully completed his probation.

Meanwhile, Krone took a job as a frontline staff member at the Chrysalis Treatment Center in Powell, which assists teens dealing with drug and alcohol problems.

More recently, Krone had been working for Magellan Health of Wyoming as a family care coordinator and case manager, helping to support families across the state who have children with complex mental health needs. The Medicaid-funded program seeks to “keep children in their homes, provide services in the community and avoid out-of-home placements.”

Coming off those experiences, Krone told the bar that he wants to devote a large amount of his time to representing those in need. That includes potentially assisting with so-called Title 25 cases, in which people are involuntarily committed to a facility after being deemed to be a danger to themselves or others due to mental illness.

“I think a lot of those clients that just have mental health issues — and as a result of that have troubles in various aspects of their life — could have some representation,” Krone said in an interview.

Under the terms of his disbarment, Krone was prevented from seeking readmission to the bar until 2021 and he opted to wait until last August. The process culminated in a Jan. 17 report from the Board of Professional Responsibility that recommended his reinstatement.

A three-member panel noted that Krone is now years removed from the crime that led to his disbarment and that he’s complied with all of the bar’s and court’s requirements since then. The panel found “by clear and convincing evidence, that [Krone] has been rehabilitated.”