Controversial local attorney John Aretakis has been admonished by the state Committee on Professional Standards for professional misconduct, Aretakis said this morning.

Admonishment is the lowest form of punishment for an attorney found guilty of violating disciplinary rules under the Code of Professional Responsibility. Aretakis, however, said he expects to face additional charges and suspects his license to practice law may be in jeopardy.

The committee rebuked Aretakis in a Feb. 18, 2008, letter following an investigation of complaints made against him by Rev. Carl A. Urban, F. Stanton Ackerman and Wayne Kelly. The complaints span periods between 2004 and 2006.

Aretakis released the letter Thursday and is planning to discuss the charges at a news conference at 1 p.m. today at his North Greenbush home.

Aretakis has been a frequent foe of the Roman Catholic church, specifically the Albany Diocese, filing at least 15 sexual abuse lawsuits since 2003 against the diocese in an effort to seek damages for people who claim they were abused by priests. All were either dismissed or withdrawn, diocese officials said. Aretakis has said he's settled 25 to 30 sexual abuse cases with the church, collecting $2.5 million in church-related settlements.

In September 2007, Aretakis was sanctioned by a federal judge and ordered to pay more than $24,000 for filing a "baseless lawsuit" against the diocese and the Federal Emergency Management Agency alleging that the church broke its agreement to provide charitable housing to a woman who was forced out of her New Orleans apartment because of Hurricane Katrina.