A Butler County judge has alerted investigators about a $368,000 hunk of money that’s allegedly missing from a dead man’s estate.

The missing money, according to court documents, was supposed to be in an escrow account of Samuel Joseph “Joe” Brydon, a prominent Slippery Rock lawyer who also serves as the county’s juvenile court master.

But Judge S. Michael Yeager, in a written court order issued Tuesday, determined the money is not in Brydon’s account and “an improper disposition of the funds has been perpetrated by Mr. Brydon.”

Yeager declined to comment.

Brydon’s lawyer, Michael Jewart of Butler, said, “We are aware of the issues, and we are working on a solution that will satisfy all parties.”

Yeager’s two-page order cites a number of other parties that he pledged to contact “to advise each ... as to Samuel Joseph Brydon’s professional conduct as exhibited in this matter and request that they proceed accordingly.”

Among those named to be contacted were: county District Attorney Richard A. Goldinger; the Disciplinary Board of the state Supreme Court; county court administration; and Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of Pennsylvania, a confidential advocacy group for lawyers in stressful situations.

Goldinger said he is aware of the judge’s order, and his office is initiating an investigation to determine whether a crime was committed.

“I think we are obligated to take a look at this,” Goldinger said.

Either the county detectives or the state police will do the investigation, Goldinger said, noting that the issue is “so new” no steps have yet been taken or decisions made.

Court records leading up to the judge’s order indicate at issue is money from the estate of John N. Davis of Slippery Rock.

According to an obituary, Davis was part owner of Wholesale Plumbing and Heating Supply, Butler, from 1964 to 1985.

The obituary says Davis died Oct. 14, 2007, at age 93.

Court records indicate Davis’ $1 million estate was to be divided equally between his daughter, Sally Davis of Euclid, Ohio, and his son, John A. Davis of Slippery Rock.

The son, having been named executor to the estate, hired Brydon to do the legal work, according to the court records.

Brydon, as part of this process, allegedly transferred $356,137 of the estate’s funds into his Interest On Lawyers Trust Account, commonly called an IOLTA account.

An IOLTA is an escrow account or trust account established by lawyers to hold clients’ money.

Court records further indicate the estate’s executor claims to have made numerous attempts over several years to get the money back. And in the meantime, estate matters such as the payment of an inheritance tax, were not being done by Brydon, according to court records.

Davis hired a new lawyer, Claire Saenz of Wexford, in 2011.

Court records indicate Saenz would later tell the court that she, too, first made attempts to retrieve the money from Brydon privately over three months before contacting the court for assistance in November.

Court records indicate Brydon cited personal obligations, illness and the retirement of a secretary as reasons for not transferring the money.

Court records say Brydon, during a Dec. 8 court hearing, told Yeager the estate’s money was in his IOLTA account, and that he would transfer the money to the estate later that month.

Brydon failed to transfer the money by the deadline, and then missed another court appearance, citing medical issues including “near pneumonia” in a letter written by his secretary, according to court records.

The judge then scheduled the Tuesday hearing as a deadline for Brydon to provide his IOLTA information to the court.

Brydon did not attend the hearing. Instead Jewart, who had been contacted less than an hour earlier represented him.

Jewart, after being given a chance to leave the courtroom to consult with Brydon and return a few hours later, told the judge that Brydon’s escrow account “contains no portion of the $368,389,” according to the judge’s order.

Jewart, according to a transcript of the hearing, told the judge, “I know he has every intention to honor any obligation he has. Where that’s going to come from at this point in time, that’s still to be determined.”

Throughout the transcripts in this case, Yeager expressed concern at being put in a position where he had to take action involving an otherwise well respected attorney who he has known since the 1980s.

“I personally find this very distasteful and repulsive,” Yeager said during the Tuesday hearing, according to the transcript. “This is the last thing I want to be involved in as a judge against a member of the Bar. But I have no — I owe this.... I owe an obligation to this estate to find out if these funds do not exist.”

Saenz said this has been a “difficult situation” for her client,” but declined further comment.

Court records indicate that multiple people, including Brydon and the judge, acknowledged on the record that the estate’s executor in July had asked the Disciplinary Board to investigate this matter.

Court records show a copy of the judge’s most recent order was mailed to that group.

Paul Killion, chief disciplinary counsel for the disciplinary board replied in writing to an inquiry about this issue, stating, “The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of PA cannot confirm or deny whether any action has been taken. All information is confidential until formal charges are filed.”

Also listed on the judge’s order to be contacted is the county court administration. And the transcripts indicate county deputy court administrator Tom Holman was in the courtroom when the judge made his decision.

In an interview later, Holman said it is important that county officials are apprised of the situation because Brydon is the county’s juvenile court master.

A juvenile court master is an attorney who is appointed by the president judge to conduct hearings in juvenile delinquency and dependency matters. The master makes recommendations to a judge.

Delinquency cases involve youths 10 to 18 years old accused of committing a crime for which they could go to jail if they were an adult. Dependency court relates to cases about other matters involving juveniles including abuse, neglect, truancy and termination of parental rights.

Holman said until this matter is resolved another attorney will oversee the juvenile court master’s cases.

However, Holman stressed that “the allegations in the order of court signed by Judge Yeager relate directly to matters in Mr. Brydon’s private practice. ... There’s no relationship to his work as juvenile court master.”

Brydon has been a juvenile court master for the county for more than a decade.

According to records at the controller’s office, the juvenile court master is paid $90 an hour, and Brydon billed the county for $111,130 in 2011.

Brydon, 56, was admitted to practice law in 1982 after having received his bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock University and his law degree from Duquesne University.

He has been a former county detective, a probation officer and a part-time district attorney for domestic relations.

He is the nephew of former Butler County Judge John Brydon, who died last summer.