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Lawyer Faces Meth Lab Charges

By William Vogeler, Esq. on March 29, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

It's hard to witness a train wreck, but not too hard to see it coming.

In a way, that's what happened to Portland attorney Erik John Graeff. He was moving down the track in his law practice, when the wheels started to come off.

Maybe it started when he allegedly shoved a client against a wall last year. It could have been the suspicious shooting incident a few months ago. But it all came crashing down this week when he was charged with operating a meth lab in his basement.

Train Wreck

None of it is good for the former Marine, honors student, and popular bankruptcy lawyer. Clients had called him "good," "honest," and "highly recommended."

What really happened between then and now is anybody's guess. But now Graeff faces charges of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to manufacture. Last month, he was arrested for allegedly shooting at another lawyer's office.

The client confrontation, which is being reviewed by the state bar, may have been an early sign of trouble for the attorney. But he took a turn for the worse when he got into an argument with a colleague.

According to reports, it started with some testy email between the lawyers. Terrence Hogan apparently asked for it when he wrote, "You know where I am tough guy."

Shots and Ecstasy

Later that night, somebody fired fix shots into Hogan's office building. One bullet struck a computer monitor, narrowly missing the receptionist.

Graeff was arrested for reckless endangering and unlawful use of a weapon, then released on bail. While executing a search warrant at his house, investigators found more than guns.

Chemicals, glass cookware, and containers of methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine caught their attention. They also found notes, instructions and videos on how to produce drugs such MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy.

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