The New York Post by Thomas Tracy - December 10, 2009
The fact that disgraced judge Gerald Garson will be home for the holidays is “reprehensible” and a “mockery of justice,” a group of divorced mothers and domestic violence survivors claimed Monday as they protested the convicted septuagenarian’s early release from prison. “Money talks and Garson walks,” screamed Karlene Gordon as she and a handful of protestors from the Voices of Women Organizing Project (VOW) stood across the street of Brooklyn Family Court on Jay Street Monday afternoon. “Gerald Garson and his partner in crime Paul Siminovsky deceived, corrupted and destroyed lives with judicial immunity and protection. Sentenced to a county club, resort-like prison, then allowed to escape his judicial slap on the wrist, Garson’s early release from jail is a slap in the faces of those lives he irreparably destroyed,” she added. “He will complete his sentence, yet the families he injured, on so many different levels, are still serving the sentence this felon imposed on them. His victims continue to suffer in silence without justice or recourse.” Gordon said she knows about suffering in silence all too well. Ten years ago Siminovsky helped her ex-husband get full custody of their children under what she claimed to be bogus circumstances. She’s still fighting to get custody. The case was never re-opened, despite Simonovsky’s arrest and conviction for bribing Garson. VOW, an assemblage of domestic violence survivors working to reform the New York Family Court system, said Garson’s arrest was an example on how domestic abuse victims are further abused when they are forced to stand in front of easily swayed jurists with dollar signs in their eyes. In 2007, Garson was convicted of bribe receiving and receiving a reward for official misconduct after he was charged with throwing divorce cases to whichever lawyer could feed his hunger for fine food and pricey vacations. Siminovsky was one of those lawyers. In fact, after he found himself in a spot of trouble, he offered to take part in the sting that took Garson down.
At his sentencing, Garson said that he was “profoundly sorry” for his behavior and that he was “appalled, embarrassed and ashamed” of his conduct. He was sentenced to three to seven years in prison, yet a state law passed in 1997 allowed his sentencing to be reduced by one-sixth if he holds a “good prison record and accomplishes the milestones that were set for him,” a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Correctional Services said. “There has been 30,000 inmates who have taken advantage of this small reduction,” the spokesperson said. Garson was transferred from Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York, to the Fulton Correctional Facility in Harlem back on October 2. He will remain in a temporary release program until his full release on December 23 -- six months early. A spokesperson for the Kings County District Attorney’s office did not comment on Garson’s early release. Last month, Michael Vecchione, chief of the DA’s Rackets Division, sent a letter to the New York Department of Parole, demanding that the early release be halted. “This was an overwhelming case of greed, of selling his office for drinks, lunches, dinners and gifts and of violation of the trust the voters and citizens of Brooklyn placed in him,” Vecchione wrote. “He should serve all the time the law requires him to serve.” ttracy@cnglocal.com
At his sentencing, Garson said that he was “profoundly sorry” for his behavior and that he was “appalled, embarrassed and ashamed” of his conduct. He was sentenced to three to seven years in prison, yet a state law passed in 1997 allowed his sentencing to be reduced by one-sixth if he holds a “good prison record and accomplishes the milestones that were set for him,” a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Correctional Services said. “There has been 30,000 inmates who have taken advantage of this small reduction,” the spokesperson said. Garson was transferred from Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York, to the Fulton Correctional Facility in Harlem back on October 2. He will remain in a temporary release program until his full release on December 23 -- six months early. A spokesperson for the Kings County District Attorney’s office did not comment on Garson’s early release. Last month, Michael Vecchione, chief of the DA’s Rackets Division, sent a letter to the New York Department of Parole, demanding that the early release be halted. “This was an overwhelming case of greed, of selling his office for drinks, lunches, dinners and gifts and of violation of the trust the voters and citizens of Brooklyn placed in him,” Vecchione wrote. “He should serve all the time the law requires him to serve.” ttracy@cnglocal.com
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23 comments:
1) Who's the POWERFUL FORCE that's controlling Manhattan's Corruption?
2) Who keeps pulling the PLUG on the indictments?
3) Will New Yorkers and the victims ever see these bastards behind bars?
4) There's so much evidence for indictments, yet nothing has happened.
5) Judges, Lawyers and Politicians are getting away with MURDER, so why are the FEDS allowing this to continue to happen?
6) Years have passed and STILL NOTHING, why?
Very, Very Sad, another year has passed and the FEDS are sitting on their ASS!!!!!!
Judge Garson will now return to the bench and make double the money he was making..This is a freaking JOKE!!!
Judges and Lawyers are committing CRIMES everyday and the FEDS are letting them get away with it!!!WHY?
New York needs ALOT more HELP than I thought!!!!!!
Some Judges have become very astute and fix cases just below the radar...
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Potential Gender Bias
Numerous commentators have observed and described the difficulties faced by a nontitled, often not gainfully employed spouse in obtaining counsel and in financing matrimonial litigation. The possibility of gender-biased discrimination in this process has been noted by, e.g., the Task Force on Gender in the Courts (see, 1986 Report of NY Task Force on Women in Cts, at 103-106).
Despite the existence of Domestic Relations Law § 237 and its provision for interim fees, both Judges and practitioners know that in most cases a matrimonial lawyer taking on representation of a nontitled spouse with limited or no resources is buying an "account receivable" which may be discounted, collected late, or never collected at all.[5] The disincentive for engaging in such representation is great, and nontitled spouses frequently find it almost impossible to obtain counsel without a very substantial retainer. The situation is even further exacerbated where the titled spouse has made it known that the case will be vigorously litigated. The potential consequences for the nontitled spouse are obvious and well known.[6]
989Where experience shows that counsel for a nontitled spouse may have to wait as much as five years before being paid, as the instant case demonstrates, few attorneys will take on such representation, thus increasing the possibility of an impermissible discriminatory outcome. Conversely, shortening the time in which counsel for the nontitled spouse can be certain of securing her fair fee thus serves both that spouse and the court system's interest in the impartial, nondiscriminatory administration of justice.
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One a deferred legal fee determination is made..
financial and representational ruin of the non-moneyed spouse is imminent..
Once on that road, attorneys loose interest, coercion becomes easy...
Ergo... case fixed in short order..
AS I UNDERSTAND IT:
Garson got 3 to 7 years. One is not eligible for parole until one does about 60% of the maximum sentence - or 60 of 84 months - 50+.
There is one additional way you can lessen your sentence off the MINIMUM: You gain Earned Eligibilty Credits off of your MIN by participating in programs designed for you. The one hitch is that you have to be in the General Prisone Population to earn it, not Protective Custody, or as Garson was until May, 2009.
In other words, the Parole Board is full of it. Just another COG in a very corrupt criminal justice system.
Bottom line: IMO, Garson is not even eligible to be released early from his sentence.
Investigate the Parole Board...!!
The real hurt will come when this crook is reinstated without delay. The corruption continues ablaze.
Members of the upstate parole board were always picked from a political pool, that swam from the waters of a swamp.
Parole pays attention to items and issues that make them look good and keep them employed.
Releasing a judge early sets well with the politics that placed them in these well paid jobs.
Releasing a street criminal early upsets the public....so the sway for the ordinary slug...is a waste of breath.....and again...politics motivates NY state government entirely...which includes all of this corrupt state and not just NYC.
Until these political parties(esp ones that can hold our Albany branches hostage) are cleaned up....the hope for NY state to care about it's citizens existence.... is a slap in the jaw negative... so don't hold your heart looking for relief...hope is hiding in deep and desired greed of POLITICIANS that thrive on being elected by THE PEOPLE....to validate this greed.
Send your contributions to Saint Andrew, Patron Saint of Crooked Lawyers and Judges. See how his beneficence allows Garson to enjoy the holidays and the New Year. Please help Saint Andrew move up the Saintly ladder.
Funny... I was just thinking about the AG's amnesty proposal... what happened to that?
Is it true that the AG can not investigate without the Governor's request... ??
Maybe that's what happened? he didn't get the expected invite/request??
is it true about the Governor,
he wants to get re elected and he is the only one who has told the crud to get lost, maybe he will be the only one to help....
we all know we have to get rid of campaign/lobbying money, the attorney grievance etc
and the majority of this will end.......
do we need to contact the governor?
every single one of our complaints go back to the political pool and the attorney grievance.........
it has corrupted everything.....
there a room ready for another one!
I know some Rockland County Judges that could take Garsons place in prison. Judges Linda Christopher,Robert Berliner and the elusive corrupt mediator,Sam Adelson.
Well lets not forget Orange County where Judge John K. McGuirk among others enables racism, parental kidnapping, forging of documents, perjury, bought and paid for law guardian, forensic charlatans, identify theft, orders containing false statements based on ex parte charlatalism, private meetings, violations of due process, and last and more disturbing the sexual exploitation of children. FRAUD all the way....
How much did this early out cost this bum and his friends? Money talks BS walks!
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/12/12/2009-12-12_gov_ok_with_a_more_powerful_ag.html
Gov. Paterson says it might be a good idea to empower Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to clean up Albany's mess.
"The attorney general having greater subpoena power is not a bad concept at all," Paterson said Friday.
Cuomo, considered a likely primary challenger to Paterson, suggested Thursday that a simple way to reform Albany would be for the Legislature to let his office issue subpoenas in public corruption cases.
Cuomo's comments follow the conviction of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on federal corruption charges.
Paterson, who has been criticized for not doing enough to push ethics reform, has proposed creating an independently chosen ethics watchdog agency.
The governor spoke to reporters after signing into law a bill to reform the state's much-criticized public authorities.
Governor Paterson is coming to Buffalo today..and the media reports that the reason is a secret!
Why would a public official...as important as the governor....keep a public visit a SECRET!
Are we supposed to be elated, concerned or neutral about this honor?
Whatever happens...Just let me know in tomorrow's paper.....as it could only be something I don't want or need to hear.
Thanks governor for the clandestine visit....but a phone call is sufficient for us from you....as I just told downstate you come here often to hide when things get tough for you there...true!
I think this story is worth repeating.
In 1974, Richard Kuh was appointed by the governor to take over the job of Manhattan DA for the ailing Frank Hogan. He was appointed in February 1974 for one year and had to run in a special election to retain that office. He would have the misfortune of running against the very formidable Robert Morgenthau.
Kuh was a West Village Reform Democrat. Kuh never had a chance to get his own party's nomination once Morgenthau entered the race. He ran in the Primary, lost, and then took the Republican nomination to run for DA. Of course, he lost.
One of his first priorities even before Morgenthau announced he would run was to get rid of the long standing Sheriff's Panel.
The Sheriff's Panel was comprised of the most powerful leaders of the business and poltical community. The presumed role of the Panel was to serve as a 'jury' for the Surrogates Court to rule on matters of competency for those that became a an interest for the court. By serving on this 'jury' that very few attended, it kept these powerful people from regualr jury duty. The real reason for the Panel was to create access for these powerful people to the leaders of the political world and the persons high up on the food tree of the poltical and judiciary.
Each year the two Sheriff's Panel ( #1 and #2) would throw a gala black tie affair where all the powerful public officials were invited to attend. Each of the invitees would leave with a gift ranging from $50.00 to $100.00.
Richard Kuh believed that such a Panel was unethical, immoral, and opened the door to corruption. It was his mission to end that very cozy arrangement. I thought it was a 'mission impossible' if not poltical suicide. He would take on the most powerful people in NYC and hope his efforts would be recognized.
The end result was that Mr.Kuh succeeded in his 'mission impossible' and the Sheriff's Panel was disbanded and remains so until this very day.
If there is ever a book written about the poltical and judicary that was called "Profiles in Courage" Richard Kuh would be the person the book was written about.
The moral of the story is: That if there is someone out there with an ounce of integrity and a lot of courage anything is possible.
petef
Attelocin Rose Equipment Company
http://www.rocklandcountyclerk.com/
Judicial – convention method
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/nyregion/25courts.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/nyregion/26courts.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/nyregion/27courts.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0
"Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011"
http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/08152011EthicsReformLegislation
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