Lawyer Receives Check in Libel Suit Settlement

Barry Tarlow, a well-known criminal defense attorney who sued the author and publishers of a controversial 1986 drug war expose, said Tuesday that he had received the settlement check and already set up an appointment to go house shopping with the money.

Tarlow maintained that “The Underground Empire,” written by James Mills and published in 1985 by Doubleday and Co., libeled him by suggesting that he was involved in money laundering. As part of the settlement, both sides agreed to a statement in which Mills and the publishers said they “never intended that the statements show Mr. Tarlow in a negative light nor do they claim that Mr. Tarlow ever engaged in any wrongful activity of any kind.”

Tarlow could not disclose the amount of the check. He estimated that the publishing company spent $2 million fighting his suit.