Ex-grid star to lose law license Monday

According to the State Bar Court of California, Ronald Jack Mix, former star Chargers lineman, will lose his law license Monday. Bar records state that as of September 26, Mix, a Hall of Famer, goes on "interim suspension after conviction." Mix, a lawyer specializing in workers compensation, pleaded guilty to felony tax fraud in May of this year.

However, the State Bar Court says that Mix's May conviction "is not yet final" because certain paperwork was missing at the beginning of September, so the suspension is "pending." Despite this problem, the official listing for Mix on Bar records says that an interim suspension takes place Monday.

Federal investigators found that Mix paid former professional basketball player Kermit Washington $155,000 over a number of years in exchange for workers comp referrals. Mix sent the money to an alleged charity run by Washington. Then Mix deducted the money he paid Washington as a charitable contribution. He was convicted of filing a false tax return. The Bar emphasizes that this is "a felony that involves moral turpitude."

Mix put in his guilty plea in federal court in Kansas City, Missouri. Some of his clients were from Missouri. Mix agreed to pay almost $50,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.

Mix's lawyer argued that Mix thought Washington's charity was legitimate. Mix represented many older athletes who did not make the kind of money in their day that athletes make today.

Mix was an All-American lineman at the University of Southern California. He was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. He was the second player from the American Football League inducted into the Hall of Fame. He played most of eleven years with the Chargers and one with the Raiders.

He got his law degree from the University of San Diego.