Federal Prosecutors Say Corrupt Former NY State Judge Remorseless, Deserves 41 months

Feds to judge: Spargo remorseless, deserves 41 months in prison
The Albany Times Union by ROBERT GAVIN - December 8, 2009

ALBANY, NY -- On the same day former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno was convicted of corruption, the federal government asked that former state Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. Spargo receive more than 3 years in prison for attempted bribery and attempted extortion.
A U.S. Justice Department prosecutor based in Washington, D.C., sent a letter Monday to Judge Gary Sharpe -- the same judge who presided over Bruno's trial -- describing Spargo as a remorseless offender who deserves the maximum time in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. The prosecutor asked Sharpe to give Spargo 41 months behind bars; guidelines call for term of at least 33 months. He also requested Spargo be fined $75,000 and receive two years of supervised release. "A lengthy term of imprisonment and a substantial fine will justly punish him for the severity of his conduct and his utter lack of remorse," stated the Dec. 7 recommendation to Sharpe, written by Raymond N. Hulser, acting chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.

In turn, Spargo's attorney, E. Stewart Jones, requested a sentence below federal guidelines. He called Spargo's actions "clearly aberrant criminal conduct." Jones asked for no fine or at most the minimum $7,500. He stated that Spargo, now disbarred, is financially destitute and will likely never again practice law. Jones even identified Spargo as a "warm, considerate, kind, compassionate and good guy" in a 15-page memo to Sharpe. Both memos are filed in U.S. District Court, where Spargo will be sentenced Dec. 21. "He has lost his self-esteem and self-worth," Jones' memo stated, adding that Spargo "embarrassed, shamed and humiliated himself" and let down his family. Jones argued the personal and professional punishments to Spargo, as well as the conviction, make any further punishment unnecessary and redundant. Spargo, 66, of East Berne, was convicted Aug. 27 of attempted bribery and attempted extortion for trying to shake down attorneys and solicit a $10,000 bribe to pay then-mounting legal bills. Just last week, he was officially disbarred by a state appeals court. A longtime pre-eminent Republican election law attorney, Spargo began his judicial career after he was cross-endorsed in a deal that led to a 14-year term in state Supreme Court in 2001. While the judge's chambers had been in Albany, Spargo presided over cases in Ulster County, within the state's Third Judicial District.

By January 2002, Spargo was facing accusations of ethical violations from the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, though unrelated to his future troubles. His legal bills would eventually exceed $140,000. At Spargo's trial in August, the government proved he tried to shake down attorneys to offset those legal costs. One of those lawyers, Bruce Blatchly, an Ulster County lawyer with more than 32 years of experience, had eight cases before the judge. On Nov. 13, 2003, Spargo solicited a $10,000 bribe from Blatchly. When the lawyer declined to pay up, Spargo pressured him again through a friend -- attorney Sanford Rosenblum -- in the coat room of a Kingston restaurant, the government said. While testifying during the trial, Blatchly said Spargo called him on his cell phone on Dec. 19, 2003. He said Spargo boasted that he would be returning to Ulster County in 2004 and handling Blatchly's cases. He testified that Spargo also informed him that Spargo's close friend, Albany County Surrogate's Court Judge Cathryn Doyle, was expected to preside over Blatchly's divorce from his now ex-wife. Spargo remarked that "it looked like a nice Christmas for him," Blatchly testified. At the time, Senior Trial Attorney Richard C. Pilger, who prosecuted the case, asked Blatchly how Spargo's remark made him feel. Blatchly replied. "... now that my divorce was in his control, or the control (of) his friend ... screwed."

On Monday, the federal government argued that Spargo remains without remorse. The government's letter to Sharpe noted that as recently as Oct. 28, Spargo insisted "Blatchly's testimony was inaccurate," while being interviewed for a pre-sentencing probation report. Spargo also told the probation office he went to trial because the federal government "was requesting that he incriminate his friends," which the government said is not true. The government dubbed Spargo's remarks to the probation office as "further evidence of his shameless refusal to accept responsibility." Its letter stated: "As a lawyer and judge, the defendant enjoyed numerous advantages in life. Rather than use those many advantages to honor the high office to which he was elected by his community, Judge Spargo turned his back on his duty for purely venal purposes..." In Jones' request for a more lenient sentence, he asked Sharpe to sentence his client to a facility close to his family in the Capital Region. Robert Gavin can be reached at 434-2403 or rgavin@timesunion.com.