NY State Supreme Court Judge Resigns, Admits Wrongdoing

Makowski resigns as State Supreme Court justice
State is probing tie to friend’s DWI case
The Buffalo News by Patrick Lakamp, Gene Warner and Matt Gryta

Joseph G. Makowski this afternoon resigned his seat as a State Supreme Court justice -- but escaped criminal charges -- in the wake of a state judicial investigation and a potential grand jury probe of written claims he made trying to clear a friend in a drunken-driving case. In a letter to Justice Sharon S. Townsend, administrative judge of the Eighth Judicial District, Makowski said: "This letter will advise you that I have decided to resign my position as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court, effective March 5, 2009. It has been a distinct privilege to serve as a member of the court for the past 10 years."

For at least three months, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct has been asking local law enforcement officials what they know about the affidavit Makowski signed after the Sept. 2 DWI arrest of former prosecutor Anne E. Adams. Makowski filed that affidavit as a witness after having been with Adams in the hours before her arrest. In that statement, dated Sept. 11, Makowski repeatedly stated that nothing in Adams’ behavior suggested she couldn’t drive safely home from a downtown Buffalo restaurant that night. Several witnesses, though, have given authorities statements that suggest Adams showed obvious signs of being intoxicated, both in her manner and in her driving. "Before we presented our case to the grand jury, Justice Makowski, like any other witness, was given a choice: recant, tell the truth and cooperate or be prosecuted," District Attorney Frank Sedita said. "Today, Makowski made the choice to recant, reject the affidavit and give our investigators a truthful statement," Sedita said. "Additionally, Justice Makowski agreed to provide truthful testimony against Ms. Adams in the grand jury and at trial. "Because of his recantation and cooperation, I will not seek to brand Makowski a criminal. However, I am deeply troubled by Makowski's original affidavit and initial conduct. Accordingly, Makowski, in lieu of criminal prosecution, will also be required to resign from the bench."

Adams today pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving, falsifying business record charges and attempted to tamper with physical evidence linked to her Sept. 2 drunken driving arrest. Adams, 46, who runs the trial technique program at the University at Buffalo Law School pleaded guilty before Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio just before 4 p.m., shortly after Makowski submitted his resignation letter from the bench. Adams, of Quaker Road, Orchard Park, faces a possible jail term of up to two years when she returns to court for sentencing April 23. Also faxing a copy of his resignation letter to Justice Ann Pfau, the state's chief administrative judge, Makowski wrote that he had "decided to resign my position as a justice of the New York State Supreme court effective March 5, 2009." "It has been a distinct privilege to serve as a member of the Court for the past 10 years," Makowski added in his two-sentence resignation letter. DiTullio allowed Adams to remain free without bail and said she will impose "a very thoughtful" sentence. Adams also could be placed on probation and faces professional disciplinary action. Under the plea deal, Adams admitted to driving drunk on Sept. 2 and, on Sept. 3, falsifying the date when a physician drew blood from her -- in an apparent attempt to counter police claims she was legally drunk during her Sept. 2 arrest.

"I would expect that as a consequence of this plea, Ms. Adams may lose her license to practice law and her professorship at UB Law School," Sedita said. "Her punishments will be determined by others, including a county court judge and the attorney grievance committee. Whether or not she loses her license and or job, Ms. Adams will be forever branded a criminal."
Adams was charged originally with aggravated DWI, accused of having a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 percent at the time of her arrest. That’s more than twice the state’s legal limit. A call to Makowski’s attorney, Joel L. Daniels, was not returned. “Ms. Adams has a 20-year, high-profile career as both a prosecutor and defense attorney,” Makowski wrote in his affidavit. “She also holds a full-time faculty position at UB Law School. These charges, even if resulting in an acquittal, would seriously damage her reputation in the community and future professional prospects. For these reasons, I believe a dismissal in the interests of justice is warranted.” Investigators were studying the following possible discrepancies between Makowski’s affidavit and witnesses’ statements to authorities, according to sources close to the case:

• “When we left the restaurant, I walked Ms. Adams to her car,” the affidavit states. “There was nothing unusual in her speech, gait or mannerisms. She was entirely appropriate.” An eyewitness, however, told law enforcement officials that Adams was stumbling as she headed for her car and that the man with her was holding her to keep her from falling.

•“After speaking with Ms. Adams for another five minutes, I told her I had to get on the Skyway to my mother’s house,” the judge wrote. “She told me she was heading to her home in Angola on the same route. I drove over the Skyway to South Buffalo with Ms. Adams’ vehicle in my continuous presence.” But an eyewitness told authorities Makowski also got into Adams’ car, and the two sat inside the car for about 20 minutes. Adams then pulled her convertible into another part of the Shanghai Red’s restaurant parking lot, near the marina. That is where she backed into a parked car before pulling away. A Buffalo police officer, parked nearby, noticed what happened and pulled up alongside her vehicle. He recognized Adams and said to her, “Counselor, where are you going?” a law enforcement source told The News. The judge was in Adams’ car at the time, the same source said. Adams then parked her car and went into the restaurant to try to find out who owned the car she had struck with her vehicle. A restaurant employee discovered the car belonged to another employee. A few days later, Adams sent a payment of several hundred dollars to the employee to cover the damage.

• “We traveled along Route 5, which is now under construction,” wrote Makowski, who was following her in his car. “Her driving was entirely appropriate. She drove at the appropriate speed, she negotiated turns and tight construction lanes properly.” But another driver later reported an erratic driver in that area. Hamburg Police Officer Vincent Pupo III pulled Adams’ vehicle over when he saw her convertible weaving from lane to lane, nearly striking a guardrail, near Ford Motor Co.’s Buffalo Stamping Plant, according to a police report. plakamp@buffnews.com and gwarner@buffnews.com