H.B. Fink retires after 50 years

Harold B. Fink in1975, as prosecutor in the highprofi le d ouble murder case against George Fitzsimmons.

One of the longest-serving and most colorful members of the legal profession in northcentral Pennsylvania is retiring.

Harold B. Fink Jr. of Coudersport, the 81-year-old former judge who has operated a private law office in Port Allegany for several years, confirmed last week that he will no longer practice.

Fink acknowle dged that he has been fighting cancer for some time now and is acc eding to family members' wishes.

"I can come to no other conclu- sion and all the members of my family agree," Fink told the

Bradford Era. "I've found it difficult to properly represent my clients . . . I've pretty well covered the waterfront over the years and I've enjoyed every minute of it. It's been a joy."

That waterfront includes civil law, some defense work and municipal representation early in his career, a long tenure as District Attorney of Potter County, followed by his election as President Judge of Potter County in 1977.

His term as judge was controversial and led to his re-

moval by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1987. Fink fought the action and still believes it was an injustice.

For the next two decades, Fink operated a general law practice in McKean County, with a client base covering six Pennsylvania and two New York State counties.

One of his daughters, Dawn Fink, worked with her father out of the Port Allegany office for several years before following in his footsteps when she was elected Potter County District Attorney in 2005.

As a D.A., Fink counts among his triumphs the successful prosecution of twotime double murdered George Fitzsimmons, who was represented by famous defense lawyer F. Lee Bailey during a non-jury trial shifted to Westmoreland County on a change of venue.

Earlier in his legal career, Fink drew some double-takes as the result of his unconventional wardrobe which, on summer days, might consist of brightly colored shorts with a sport coat and tie.

His back-slapping, lookyou in-the-eye personality has touched countless lives. Fink has also demonstrated a sincere interest in young people, as a baseball coach, a crusader against drug abuse and other self-destructive behavior, and as a personal counselor and confidante.

A native of Wellsboro, Fink graduated from Temple Law School and was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar on Nov. 1, 1955. He began his legal practice in Coudersport in 1956.

For many years, he was partnered in Potter County with local attorney Thur Young in the law firm Fink & Young. Over a half-century, he has represented a wide variety of clients.

The Fitzsimmons case was among his more notable achievements as a prosecutor.

In civil litigation, he argued persuasively for the acceptance of chiropractic as expert medical evidence and handled cases ranging from property disputes to conflict of interest allegations against public offi cials.

In his latter years as private practitioner, Fink battled a series of health problems to continue his work, often as a court-appointed defense lawyer for low-income citizens facing criminal charges.

As his career wound down, and particularly after he returned to private practice, Fink grew more opinionated -- at times passionate -- about what he perceived as shortcomings or abuses in criminal justice and civil litigation.

At one point toward the end of his career, Fink considered writing a book about his experiences in the law profession from multiple perspectives. His proposed title, in typical outspoken style: "The System Stinks!"

He and his wife, Cynthia, are parents of six children: Deb, Dawn, Brian, Bruce, Robin and Chris.