Andrew Van Buren, the cowardly, dishonest, alcohol-loving and DESPERATELY GREEDY "breath of fresh air" in Delaware County (NY) judicial elections

In April 2022 a new judicial candidate has announced of his run for the seat of Delaware County (NY) County/Family/Surrogate's court judge, a position that pays $210,000 a year.

Andrew Van Buren.

I have explained in my earlier articles on this blog why you won't hear from currently practicing attorneys anything negative about this judicial candidate.

So, I will oblige - because, after seeing this ridiculously dishonest piece of self-advertising by Andrew Van Buren in The Walton Reporter,

I cannot and will not remain silent.  Voters have a right to know who and what this candidate is.

I know this candidate since 1999, I know him through social settings (he used my husband as his mentor until he switched to become Judge Carl F. Becker's messenger boy), I worked with him on the same cases as an attorney, and I know him as a dishonest and mean drunk who has no place on the bench.

Delaware County has known enough dishonest judges and enough dishonest mean drunks on the bench without Van Buren be added to this cohort.

It is true that Van Buren - same as the other candidate, John Hubbard - has an extensive litigation experience, and has his share of cases that he won, like any lawyer does.

But, a County Court judge in Delaware County is a multibench judge, and his main caseload will be in Family Court where he will rule as a sole fact-finder, without a jury, determining the fate of people's custody to children and in cases where people's custody of children, employment and a vast range of other rights are implicated, child abuse and neglect proceedings.

A Family Court judge has a tremendous power, and must be even-tempered, and not prone to petty vengeance.  That is not who Andrew Van Buren is.

1.  The coward who sells friends for money

"A breath of fresh air" is a phrase Andrew Van Buren likes to use.

He used it characterizing me once, in an interesting setting.

He lived in my husband's home while going to law school.

My husband helped his family member a lot.

My husband was mentoring Van Buren and teaching him trial skills.  Van Buren was calling my husband frequently for - free - consultations, which were always given, just to set a background of relationships with our family.

Van Buren recommended me to the licensing authorities to be admitted for the practice of law.

Then my practice of law started.

I was in the courtroom of Judge Carl F. Becker, it was sometime in 2009.

I was representing a client in a child neglect case.  I have made a motion to recuse Becker from presiding over the case as an attorney who represented the Petitioner for 27 years and will rely on his personal out-of-court knowledge and not the evidence presented, in assessing credibility of his personal friends.

Becker denied the motion, I continued to make objections in court.

Becker told me "close your mouth, Mrs. Neroni". 

I stood up and objected against Becker treating me in such a manner and moved to recuse for actual bias against me that will reflect on my client.

Andrew Van Buren was one of attorneys present in these proceedings.

He remained silent, looking into his desk, head down.

After court, he caught up with me outside of the courthouse and told me that 

• I am "a breath of fresh air", supposedly much needed for the County, and that, 
• as to my motion to recuse Becker as having represented the local DSS for 27 years before coming to the bench, "everybody knows it, but nobody says it".

To that, Van Buren added - but, "don't burn your bridges, Tanya".

I did not realize at that time that it was a threat, and a threat communicated from Becker.  I still considered Van Buren at that time not just a colleague, but a family friend.

Little did I know that Andrew Van Buren, to survive financially and get assignments in Family Court, has become a messenger boy for that same Judge Carl F. Becker.

In 2011, Andrew Van Buren came to the house of his mentor of many years, my husband, bringing to him a personal threat of criminal prosecution from Judge Becker, a completely bogus threat.  I was present when he voiced that threat to my husband - "if you don't do this and that, I will have you criminally prosecuted."

Note that Becker was not a county DA at that time.  Northrup (Becker's friend) was.  So Becker could not possibly "have" anybody criminally prosecuted, unless his friend Northrup would go along with his request for fabrication.

Note that in 2009, after I have made that motion to recuse Becker, Becker used his other corrupt friend, DSS Commissioner Moon, to fabricate a child neglect case against my husband and myself, trying to hurt our young child and us, prosecuted by a yet another Becker's friend, Porter Kirkwood, who also ran for the judicial position with Becker's endorsement.

So, Becker by that time has ALREADY fabricated a case with the help of another friend, a child neglect case, against us (which may have resulted also in criminal charges had it played out as Becker wanted it to).

We won it - after over a year in litigation.

Even the child's assigned counsel (out of Binghamton) told us that it was "small town politics", and supported us in fighting it.

DSS/Moon has fired a young attorney who rebelled against this fabrication as a political case, later settled and had that attorney move away across the state.

Note that BEFORE that threat, I have asked the current judicial candidate and then Chief ADA John Hubbard to criminally prosecute Becker for being an impostor and not a judge and for forging documents relating to his election in March of 2011.

Hubbard did not tell me that he was Becker's prior law partner who bought Becker's law practice and law office and was put into the ADA position by Becker, but refused to prosecute him.

Note that in May of 2011, Hubbard, instead, threatened my husband "not to burn bridges" (exactly as Van Buren threatened me in 2009, before Becker fabricated a child neglect case against us with his friend Moon).

That was when my husband filed an assigned appeal in People v Carbone, raising the issue of corruption of Becker and Northrup (having a blind man sign, without knowing, a waiver of civil rights litigation against Becker and Northrup for extrajudicial confiscation of his money and car).  My husband did not take that appeal back and was disbarred, based on bogus claims.

Note that at the end of June, 2011, I have SUED Becker in state court on behalf of a 3rd party, my husband and myself.

Andrew Van Buren knew all of that.  Because we told him this information, as a longtime family friend.

I wonder how much of it Van Buren communicated directly to Becker, in exchange for assignments in family and criminal court.

And, knowing all of that, he came into his mentor's home in July of 2011 bearing a threat from Becker that Becker will fabricate a criminal charge against my husband.  Van Buren told us directly that it was Becker's request he was carrying out.

He did not tell the judge that he will not be serving as his messenger boy.

He did not tell the judge that it is illegal to threaten a person who just sued you and whose wife just asked to criminally prosecute you as an impostor, with a yet another fabrication - after Moon's fabrication failed.

He did not tell the judge to bring his threats that had nothing to do with his judicial duties - on his own.

He caved in and worked as a messenger boy for the corrupt judge.

As a contemptible coward that he is.

Because this was his Judas price to get assignments from Becker, at $75 an hour, in criminal and Family Court cases.

But that was not all.

2. Deliberate deception of voters

The next year, in 2012, when Becker ran for re-election, Van Buren, knowing full well, who and what Becker is, wrote THIS:

Knowing that Becker - VICIOUSLY - avenges criticism of his misconduct, Van Buren preferred to DECEIVE Delaware County voters by falsely praising a judge he knew was a criminal.

"In my experience, Judge Becker gives attorneys and litigants, alike, an opportunity to be heard (even when the time for doing so is limited).  His decisions are fair, well-reasoned, and thoroughly researched.  His sentencing decisions reflect the interests of the community and also a measure of compassion for criminal defendants".

Van Buren said that, knowing that Becker was a mean petty drunk who was the most reversed judge, probably, in the Delaware County's history, here is the list of just some of his reversals.

Van Buren knew that Becker shut down attorneys' objections and did not let them make their arguments in court.

He knew that Becker DID NOT research his cases - that's why he was the most-reversed judge.

He knew that Becker's sentencing decisions served the career and financial interests of his own and of his friends Northrup, Moon and (then-County Attorney) Spinney, and nobody else's.

Yet, Van Buren knew that he will not be disciplined for FALSE PRAISE - only for criticism of a judge, no matter how fair.

And - HE LIED TO VOTERS, lied with authority, based on his years of experience appearing in front of Becker.

So, Van Buren IS the one who arranged, through his DELIBERATE DECEPTION OF VOTERS, for saddling the County residents with another term of 10 years of Becker's tyranny (good that the "fair and reasonable" Becker ran from the office in 2015 chased by the FBI, the New York State Commission for judicial conduct and the State Comptroller's office).

3. Disorderly conduct arrest

Van Buren's unruly behavior was reported back in 2002 when he was arrested for disorderly conduct and littering in front of his client's house.

4.  Dishonesty with clients, attorneys and courts and GREED, GREED, GREED again

Greed Case # 1.  Extorting attorney fees from a cancer patient and victim of his client's stone theft

Sometime in the early 2000s, when I have just got married to a Delaware County resident, attorney Frederick J. Neroni, and came to live there, my husband had an interesting case against Andrew Van Buren's client.

The case was well publicized at that time, and I am sure many people who lived in the area at the time would remember it.

A woman (my husband's client) was diagnosed with cancer and came to live in our area, charmed by its peace and tranquility.

Well, Andrew Van Buren's client interfered with that piece and tranquility by starting to steal stones from a historical stone wall on her property.

What was even more atrocious was that Andrew Van Buren moved for a summary judgment against my husband's client, asking the court to award his client's (thief's) attorney fees owed to Van Buren - against the victim of the theft, the property owner and a cancer patient who his client robbed.

I do remember that the presiding judge, I believe, it was Michael V. Coccoma, was so upset about what Van Buren did that he

1/ granted to my husband's client a REVERSE summary judgment ON THE COURT'S OWN MOTION, when my husband was not even asking for it; and

2/ banned Andrew Van Buren from his courtroom.

I remember how Andrew Van Buren called my husband and left a drunk insulting message on our answering machine about it.

The only reason he did what he did was GREED, he wanted his fee no matter what and no matter who he was going to squeeze that fee from.

Greed Case # 2.   Desperately trying to get paid for representing opponent of Van Buren's own former client in the same case

Children custody trials are emotional, drawn-out, involve a lot of detailed evidence and a lot of witnesses, and courts usually give plenty of time to prepare for such trials - because of all the above.

Imagine the situation.

I have a custody trial for a client scheduled for the next day.

Suddenly I receive a call from Andrew Van Buren telling me that he represents the opponent in that case now.

That was NOT how the law requires attorneys to get substituted.

There was an attorney of record in that case (attorney Zilbert, as far as I remember), substitution of attorneys must be done - by law - through a NOTARIZED consent to change attorneys, which Andrew Van Buren DID NOT obtain from the opposing party and DID NOT file with the court.

Quite recently before that Judge Burns (presiding judge in the custody case) chastised in court attorney Renee Albaugh for claiming to be attorney of record in a divorce case and making motions in that case, while failing to file a proper substitution of attorneys and, thus, not being attorney of record.

So, Andrew Van Buren was NOT an attorney of record in the case at the time he claimed he was representing my client's opponent.

Anyway, I call my client and I notify him that a claim is made that Andrew Van Buren will be representing his opponent at the tomorrow's trial - and he calls me back immediately, quite upset, telling me that Andrew Van Buren was HIS attorney in the SAME case (custody cases take a long time, sometimes years).

I do believe it was greed - Andrew Van Buren charges an arm and a leg for representation at trials, and he needed money, so he pretended that he "forgot" that he is opposing his own former client in the same case where he represented him on the same issue.

Van Buren dishonestly took the case out of greed, hoping that it will slide through, and nobody will remember.

Well, his client did remember, and objected, and I wrote to Andrew Van Buren on my client's behalf.

Here is our e-mail exchange (I've blacked out the names of clients).  

The year was 2013 - after Andrew Van Buren has shown us his true colors as the corrupt Judge Becker's racketeer messenger boy.

What was wrong with Andrew Van Buren asking for an adjournment?

Everything was wrong about it.

First of all, he was not yet an attorney of record in the case - never was, and can't ask the court for anything.

Second, he cannot be an attorney of record for the opponent since he represented my client in the same case before, and can't ask the court for anything that is against my client's best interests.

As I said above, there was plenty of time given by the court for trial preparation, there was PLENTY of work done by me preparing for the trial, work that was already billed, per hour, to my client, and my client very reasonably objected to any adjournment at the 11th hour, especially for the bogus reason that his opponent fired previous attorney and hired HIS OWN INITIAL ATTORNEY, and then, after his attorney's conflict of interest was revealed, claimed an adjournment that she was not otherwise entitled to.

A good trick, wasn't it?

Here is what I wrote to Van Buren on the subject:

And that is when Andrew Van Buren EXPLODED - consider THAT piece for an assessment of this judicial candidate's "judicial temperament":

He was obviously afraid that I will sue him on behalf of his client - which his client had an obvious right to do, and it would not have been a "malicious way to practice law", but his former client's right.

Note that all I asked was for Van Buren to just step aside COMPLETELY and not ask the judge for ANYTHING on behalf of his new client (opponent of his former client in the same litigation), because THAT REQUEST WAS ILLEGAL AND UNETHICAL - twice, coming from an attorney who was not an official attorney of record, and coming from an attorney who was opposing his own former client.  

Note that I did not threaten Van Buren with any referrals, complaints or lawsuits.

I simply asked him to not ask the judge for any adjournments, since he had no right to represent his own client's opponent in the first place, for any reason.

Note that Van Buren tries to pretend that he cares a lot about Judge Burns "coming from Cooperstown" to preside over the case, only to "have to adjourn it".  

Know what?  He didn't have to adjourn anything, since Van Buren was instantly replaced by another attorney, and the trial did happen.

But, Van Buren just tried to have the case adjourned on false pretenses - possibly, trying to keep a part of the (likely giant) fee that he unlawfully charged his client.

How is that about honesty and temperament of a judicial candidates, dear voters?

And here is what Andrew Van Buren told me when I called him out on his tantrum.

See?

He "always" apologizes "when it is warranted". 

Once again, the summary of the story.

A certain client FIRED Andrew Van Buren and, after other previous attorneys, hired me.

I prepared for trial for my client.

Andrew Van, angry at his client for firing him, designed a costly revenge for his client.

Van Buren allowed his client's opponent to hire him, charged her a trial fee (not less than $10,000, and that is a conservative estimate, as far as I know Van Buren's fees), and tried to derail his former client's trial.

When caught red-handed, he started to accuse the attorney who simply asked him not to act against his own former client, of all kinds of - non-existing - mortal sins and refused to apologize, because I am not worth the apology.

GREED CASE #3 (and that's only what I know of, over a short period of time).  Cika v Kellner

A contractor did a remodeling job in a house.  The homeowner refused to pay.

I sued on behalf of the contractor.  Van Buren represented the homeowner.

Van Buren moved to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that it is subject to a mandatory arbitration agreement.

I opposed the motion and won, so the case was retained by the court.

I filed discovery demands with Van Buren, he did not comply.

The judge (Lambert) called a discovery-pretrial-settlement conference.  My client did not want to settle, and especially when Van Buren's client did not comply with discovery demands.

Before the pre-trial conference, Van Buren told me that his client is not paying him (like he did not pay my client for his work).  At the conference Van Buren started to pressure me into settling the case on terms favorable to his client - and demanded that my client's must pay Van Buren's attorney fees for OPPOSING my client's lawsuit.

I refused.

Van Buren became verbally abusive.

I requested the court attorney (Oursler) handling the conference to put audio recording on (it was in the Grand Jury room where audio recording equipment was installed at that time).  Oursler refused.

Van Buren continued to berate me at the top of his lungs for not settling the case and accusing me and my client of non-existing misconduct.

At the end of the conference I was crying, shaking, my hands were trembling, and I went to a colleague to at least have a witness of my condition after the conference.

I DID turn Andrew Van Buren into attorney discipline for his behavior in this Greed #3 case. 

Being a diligent Becker's student and knowing that by that time Becker has fabricated a child neglect against us (we won a dismissal), a disciplinary case against my husband (he was disbarred) and a disciplinary case against me (still pending at the time), Van Buren decided to fabricate more - with Becker's help.

He complained against me that I FALSELY accused Van Buren of misconduct at the conference, that it was I, and not him, who derailed discovery in the case, and that I was "improperly" refused to settle (and, obviously, to agree that my client must pay Van Buren's attorney fees).

Van Buren claimed that Oursler (who refused to audiotape Van Buren's misconduct) will testify against me as to what was happening in the conference, and that Becker will also come to testify against me on Van Buren's behalf.

That was a year after Van Buren praised Becker during his election campaign to voters and 2 years after he parlayed Becker's threat of (fabricated) criminal prosecution to my husband.

Apparently, Van Buren revealed that he was in a very close friendly relationship with Judge Becker if Becker would agree to come testify on behalf of Van Buren against me.  So much for "I am not beholden to anyone".

In response to Van Buren's fabrication, I pointed out his misbehavior in the conflict of interest Greed #2 case, and THEN Andrew Van Buren LIED EVEN MORE, now to the court - the court never disbarred him for that though (I wonder, why, probably, Becker asked for him).

While Van Buren claimed to me - see e-mail exchange above - that, oops, my mistake, missed conflict of interest, to the Attorney Grievance Committee/Appellate Court Van Buren said something completely different.

He said that he has 

1/ an advance archiving system, PLUS a "court-approved" conflict-checking software!!!

Which only aggravated his misbehavior in the custody case.  The only thing he needed to do was, without stepping into representation of his client, to CHECK his "advanced and court-approved" conflict-checking software and archive to see whether there is a conflict of interest - and say "no" to the prospective client.

---

By the way, when Van Buren told me that "I am the breath of fresh air" (back in 2009) and berated Becker to me, possibly to get into my confidences ON BECKER's BEHALF, as his messenger boy, to get on the assignment list, at that point Van Buren told me that he actually has 11 disciplinary violations (not shown on his public record though, but that he acknowledged himself).

I wonder what those violations are for.

Here is some of my responses to Van Buren's fabrication after he nearly caused me a heart attack or a stroke trying to get money from my client instead of his own non-paying client (as he usually does - since the stone wall case).

I would like to point out one very important point.  Van Buren did not only try to (knowing that I was under severe stress, when my husband lost his law license due to Becker's and 2 other local sons-of-judges' fabrication, when Becker was after me with sanctions after I sued him for misconduct, when I carried a huge caseload, my husband's and my own, and supported a minor son, who we had to transfer to an out-of-state private school to save him from harassment of Becker's pocket social services department) rattle me to the point of a heart attack - simply to shake money out of my client because his own client did not pay his fees and, thus Van Buren did not want to do discovery or proceed to trial, not being paid.

Van Buren also falsely claimed to the disciplinary authorities that it was I, his victim, who falsely accused him, and he is ready to provide testimony for that of Judge Lambert's court attorney Oursler (never provided), the one who refused to audiotape Van Buren's tantrum, and ready to provide testimony in Van Buren's support of Judge Becker - who was not in that courtroom, but was obviously ready to testify against me no matter in what case.

Moreover, Van Buren tried to claim that it is I who was in need of a "psychological evaluation" - because I did not want to have my client pay for Van Buren's greed, obviously.

It would be a suicide act for Delaware County voters to give this vengeful, greedy and mean drunk who already tried to create fabrications and "diagnose" his opponents as psychos - authority to COURT-ORDER, under the threat of "contempt of court", jail time and fines, psychological evaluations.

He will do it to people out of pure personal revenge.

===

So, dear Delaware County voters.

I wrote a lot of things criticizing John Hubbard.  I think he is a very bad candidate for a judge, and I stand by my word.

I will post separate articles about John Hubbard's qualifications to become a judge.

Yet, one BIG negative factor John Hubbard definitely lacks, as compared to Van Buren.

GREED to instantly start getting the judicial salary of $210,000 per year.

Andrew Van Buren overcharges the private clients he happens to catch, so private clients are rare - so he resorts to trying to claim attorney fees against his client's opponents, like he did in the stone wall theft case, like he did in Cika v Kellner's case.

Or, he desperately tries to get hired even by his former client's opponents in the same case and hide it hoping that he won't be caught red-handed.

Van Buren otherwise subsists on assigned cases, which pay not much, and only at the end of the case, so he has no cash flow in between, which is bad, especially when you are raising growing children close to college age.

Van Buren's opponent in judicial elections, DA John Hubbard's salary at this time is $201,000.

So, at least one can say about Hubbard that a puny salary increase of 4% cannot be considered as motivated by greed - which is, quite obviously, Van Buren's case.

So.

Do you want a judge who is drunk, mean, vengeful and desperately greedy, with a history of outrageously unethical behavior dictated by greed?

Do you want a judge who would drive a woman to a blood pressure hike behind closed doors, arrange with his buddies not to preserve evidence and then claim that what happened behind those closed doors was exactly the opposite to what his victim claimed?

Just for greed?

Just for personal vengeance? 

Will you feel SAFE with such a judge behind closed doors?

• Respect for justice;
• committed to the concept of impartial justice;
• exudes respect and empathy for his fellow human beings;
• will hold all in his courtroom to the highest standards of ethics and the law;
• will make sure that our county court system works first and foremost for us, the people
• represents people, and represents a breath of fresh air.

These are all arrogant LIES.

 

Did I also mention that Van Buren is not only mean, and is not only dishonest, and greedy, and vengeful, but is a dishonest, greedy, mean and vengeful DRUNK? 

I have personally smelt alcohol on his breath, at a distance, in court, on many occasions, and I know Andrew Van Buren since 1999, and came to court regularly since that time accompanying my husband first, and then on my own, as an attorney.

Reportedly, he did not stop drinking since we left Delaware County in 2015.  If anything, his drinking has reportedly become worse.

My contacts in the County tell me they see Van Buren, increasingly unkempt, and with increasingly greater number of beer 12-packs.

He looks like a cow chewed him and then spat him out.

A big contrast with the unfailingly clean-cut John Hubbard.

Will you vote for an unethical, dishonest, petty, vengeful, mean drunk with a history disorderly fraudulent conduct who is a danger to women behind the closed doors of unrecorded court conferences - which he will be able to hold aplenty if he becomes a judge?

Would you want to find yourself on the receiving end of a forcible psychological evaluation each time you point out his - inevitable - misconduct?

And note - audio and video recordings are not allowed by court rules in the courthouse.

Van Buren knows it.

And he has a history of using it in his fabrications, and had, as an aid in his fabrications, Judge Becker, the notoriously corrupt judge.  While claiming now to voters that he is "independent", "for the people" and "not beholden to anybody".

As a judge, his fabrications will only become worse and have greater impact upon people.

Do you want such a judge?

Your call.

What did Dick Northrup do on top of the "usual" shenannigans allowed to New York judges to be booted off the bench mid-term - just like his friend Carl Becker was?

This past Friday County "Judge" Richard Northrup

has officially retired from his unlawfully held position, only 6 years into the 10-year term.

Coincidentally, the same - running from the bench midterm - was done by the person who has illegally sworn him in office, being at the time a private citizen - see in the picture below the former County Judge Carl F. Becker, donning a judicial robe as if he is still a judge, swearing Northrup in into his own former judicial seat (they can't both be judges at the same time regarding the same judicial vacancy, right?).

Becker, friend of Northrup who "swore in" Northrup to become a judge as illegal as Becker in his 1st term - Becker did not file certificate of election as required by law in 2002 and forged it in 2011 when I pointed the lack of it in a motion to vacate his decision as not being decisions of a lawful judge.

Becker, friend to Northrup so close that Northrup allowed him to annul legitimacy of his judgeship by having a private person to impersonate a judge and to publicly and illegally administer Northrup's judicial oath of office, was a very frequently-reversed judge, 

famous for helping his friend Northrup to win criminal cases by eliminating good criminal defense attorneys by pulling their licenses - Becker eliminated 3 criminal defense attorneys who bothered him and his friend Northrup with motions, appeals and civil rights lawsuits.

Becker thus helped Northrup eliminate David Roosa who in his lawsuit in federal court (a public record) disclosed that Becker complained against Roosa and had his law license pulled for providing effective representation to indigent criminal defendants in assigned cases - Roosa treated cases of indigent defenses with no difference to cases of retained clients, doing the full amount of work, including discovery and motions, which enraged Becker (the lawsuit was, of course, dismissed on "absolute judicial immunity" grounds without review of Becker's conduct on the merits - as all other lawsuits against him were hushed down). 

Becker was also the judge who eliminated from the reach of Delaware County (and beyond) people a team of husband and wife criminal defense, Family Court (defense-against-CPS) and civil rights attorneys Frederick and Tatiana Neroni who Becker was especially upset about because 

1. they were "double-teaming" (Becker's word) at criminal trials - one looking through documents provided by the prosecution right before testimony of the witness spotting necessary issues to ask questions and adding to the questions of the other while the other was cross-examining the witness, because
2. they were in court every day, even though Becker never assigned cases to them - because people hired them based on their skills, and because
3. they did not hold back and were not afraid to make motions to recuse Becker.

Becker first tried to eliminate both by orchestrating a bogus child neglect proceedings against both of them accompanied by a police/DA's criminal investigation and prosecution by his friend Northrup.

When that failed, Becker assigned himself - after an initial recusal - to all civil cases where the couple appeared, refused to recuse himself, imposed sanctions on the wife for making motions to recuse him, fixed the case against the husband, and orchestrated disbarment of the husband and suspension of the wife - which helped Northrup as a prosecutor a lot, since first the husband, and then the husband-and-wife team ran, for years, a 24/7 legal clinic where anybody could call or come at any time of day or night and receive legal advice, the first consultation - always for free.

As it has become a "time-honored tradition" in Delaware County and the greater upstate area, local journalists are only brave to bash Trump (since it is allowed by the state establishment), but are extremely timid to point out corruption and misconduct of local public officials, especially those with tremendous power, like prosecutors and judges.

In view of timidity of local journalists, I will do their job for them in this article, covering - as a first-hand witness or expert who have reviewed the records - the true "accomplishments" of the supposed "jurist" Richard Northrup.

As shown in the public database of New York licensed attorneys, "judge" Northrup has gotten his law license in 1984:

According to the local accolade to Northrup on his retirement, Northrup is a native of Walton, New York, and - in my free interpretation of what that accolade said - broke out on his own after law school and for the first 2 years of his practice practiced criminal defense in Greene County where he even worked, fresh out of law school, as an "assistant public defender for Greene County".

Apparently, Northrup did not survive on his own in his private practice and in 2 years' time returned to his parents in Walton.

For 6 years he was trying to practice on his own under his parents' wing in Walton - which also was not very successful.

I personally reviewed one of the documents created by Northrup in his private practice, the will of Arthur Kilmer Sr, so convoluted that courts of two levels, Delaware County Supreme Court and Appellate Division 3rd Department - as well as several attorney teams - could not figure out who out of the testator's numerous children and grandchildren gets what according to that will.

Being no good in criminal defense and no good in civil private practice, in other words, failing in his private law practice even under the wing of his parents, Northrup resorted to the refuge of all incompetent and corrupt individuals - he decided to "serve" people as a taxpayer-salaried public official.

So, in 1992, at the age of 33, Northrup switched sides in criminal cases and started to work for prosecution, being no good in criminal defense.

The difference between the required competence of a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney in New York is that the criminal defense attorney should actually work, and a prosecutor should have a pulse and a law license:

1. the prosecutor is the legal advisor of the grand jury that - by words of the former Chief Judge of New York State Court of Appeals Sol Watchler - can indict a ham sandwich;
2. the majority of criminal court judges are themselves former prosecutors, often from the same or parallel (County Attorney, CPS prosecutor) offices who heavily help prosecutors in criminal cases; AND
3. criminal prosecutors have been (illegally) immunized by the U.S. Supreme Court for committing crimes in office, fabricating wrongful conviction, engaging in corrupt schemes and violating constitutional rights of criminal defendants and other people related to the criminal prosecution.

Let me recall once again - I believe, I did it in one of my previous articles about Northrup - my first recollection of Northrup's competence as a prosecutor that prompted me to say that all he needed to be a DA was a law license and a pulse, no competence or brains needed.

At that time, I was still a law student who my husband took with him to attend him as an assistant at a trial for felony rape.

Northrup was the prosecutor on the case.

He presented the jury with a piece of evidence in a ziploc - underwear with reddish-brown spots on it.

Here comes cross-examination by my husband to the police officer witness on the stand (by recollection):

Question: do you know what kind of spots are those?

Answer:    I assume it is the victim's blood.

Question:    How do you know?

Answer:    I don't know.

Question:    Did you have this piece of evidence checked by an expert to verify if these brown spots are blood at all?

Answer:    No.

Question:    So, you do not know whether these spots are blood or wine or paint?

Answer:    No, I don't know.

THIS was the "piece of evidence" that Northrup was proudly parading in a ziplock in front of a jury!

Without putting in any effort whatsoever to properly prepare for trial and to at least attempt to verify that the assertion he is making in court - that the evidence he is offering is blood of the victim on the victim's underware - is not wine or paint, is blood, and is specifically the victim's blood.

This is the quality of "public service" that Northrup was providing - at a high salary, for years - to the public.  

Let's go on with his proud biography of public servant, as presented by the accolade of the now-radical leftist rag "The Daily Star" from Oneonta, NY.

Having qualified as an assistant prosecutor, with his pulse and his license intact, Northrup made a quick career and already in 1996, at the age of 37, after just 4 years of being an assistant district attorney, became Delaware County District Attorney.

He remained in that position for 19 years, 4 3/4 terms, getting re-elected 5 times, before he ran for the judicial seat vacated by his friend Carl Becker (who ran from the bench mid-term chased by a triple investigation by upon information from my personal sources - by the FBI, the State Comptroller, and the State Judicial Conduct Commission.)

On becoming District Attorney in 1996 and having discretion as an employer to hire part-time assistant district attorneys - who are allowed to continue to practice law privately - Northrup made a wise (for his career) decision, hiring as an Assistant District attorney and then making Chief Assistant District attorney John Hubbard, law partner to Carl Becker, the then assistant County Attorney and CPS prosecutor.

When Becker became judge in 2002, District Attorney Northrup failed to disclose to criminal defense attorneys (including my husband Frederick J. Neroni since 2002 and myself since 2009) that he employed as his 2nd-in-command the criminal court judge's law partner.

I truly believe that all criminal convictions attained in the period between 2002 and 2015 before judge Becker must be vacated because of this non-disclosure - by Northrup and by Becker.

John Hubbard disclosed that he was a law partner of Carl Becker only when he himself ran for the position of the District Attorney in 2016, after Northrup became a judge in Becker's place and Hubbard - Acting District Attorney in Northrup's place.

Even when I reported Judge Becker to the DA's office for having committing a crime, filing the required certificate of election in 2002, that was never filed and then forged and filed in 2011, when all documentary proof of that election was long gone - John Hubbard talked to me, never disclosing that he was Becker's law partner and only asked - "why do you need this?"

And, of course, Becker returned the favor Hubbard gave his old law partner for not criminally prosecuting Becker - Becker got himself assigned to a case reviewing Hubbard's own former botched representation of clients 

("In October 2004, plaintiff entered into an agreement to purchase and harvest timber upon property owned by defendants Bradley W. Torum and Samme Chittum-Torum (hereinafter collectively referred to as defendants). Defendants thereafter conveyed the property, without reserving plaintiff's rights, to individuals who refused to permit the collection of the timber. This action against defendants and the purchasers of the property ensued" - 

attorneys for the parties on that supposedly improper conveyance of the property was Becker's law partner John Hubbard (conveniently hired by DA Northrup to please Becker and win criminal cases) and Becker's friend and then-Delaware County Attorney Richard Spinney, more about Spinney below). 

Naturally, Becker should not have touched that case with a 10-foot pole because of his multiple grounds for disqualifications - but he did, and his sanction against me for making a motion to recuse him was one of the sanctions which he used to have my law license pulled, without a hearing, automatically.

Becker's rage against me was apparent to anybody who frequented court hearings where Becker reacted to my appearances for my clients as to a red rag, exploding to anything I say and telling me publicly to "close your mouth, Mrs. Neroni".

Federal courts refused to intervene and protect me and my clients - by dismissing, as it always does, my lawsuit against Becker on "judicial immunity grounds" and where the judge practically laughed at me and my clients for even trying to break the brick wall of judicial immunity no matter what the judge did to parties or counsel appearing in front of him.

Of course, Hubbard and Northrup, Becker's buddies, never prosecuted Becker and those who helped him file a forged certificate of election - for their crimes.

DA Northrup had a yet another accomplishment: he was 

forcing criminal defendants, including blind ones, to accept as part of their plea bargains, waivers of their right to sue Northrup, the local police, the County and his friend Becker in federal court for civil rights violations.

When I saw that agreement in black and white as a public record - it is still a public record in Delaware County courthouse at 3 Court Street, Delhi, NY 13753 in the criminal case People v Richard Carbone - I was shocked.  I simply could not believe my eyes.

For public officials to misuse their positions so that to SELL supposed leniency in criminal cases in exchange for personal favors to them - waivers of the defendants' rights to sue them in federal court for money, in their individual capacity - is, very plainly, selling decisions in criminal cases for bribes, which is a crime, state and federal.

Northrup and Becker had a good cover to protect them on all sides from any accountability for that crime - the defense attorney prior to me on the case who stepped into the case illegally, without filing with the court a formal substitution of attorney, and for the only purpose to get a quick buck on that "plea-for-waiver/bribe" scheme from his blind client who didn't know what he was signing - and the defense counsel did not tell him - was no other than the then-Vice Chair of the New York State Commission of Judicial Conduct Stephen Coffey.

And on that Commission (I wonder if she was also on the take for a portion of that money) was the Presiding justice of the Appellate Division 3rd Department Karen Peters) - who, being also the chief of attorney-licensing court, orchestrated pulling licenses of both my husband and my own after I have upset the plea-for-waiver/bribe scheme, publicly humiliated Coffey and Peters and had the money returned to my legally blind client.

As I said above, I addressed this illegal "practice" in criminal and then - successfully, despite threats -  in a related civil case.

After my success on appeal - summary judgment was vacated and the case was remanded for further proceedings, Becker 

• got the judge in the civil case replaced, 
• got himself assigned to that case, 
• where the Plaintiff was Becker's girlfriend and 
• her attorney, Becker's longtime friend and boss, then-Delaware County Attorney Richard Spinney admitted in open court on record to ex parte communication with Becker about the case.

Then, answering my motion to have him recused from the case for obvious conflicts of interest, Becker sanctioned me for "frivolous conduct" and "threat to the court" (I warned him that when I sue him and Northrup on his illegal policy, I will call them as witnesses), quickly complained against me to licensing authorities and had my license pulled without a hearing.

So, I am a witness to this policy of forcing criminal defendants to sign waivers of their right to sue Judge Becker, DA Northrup and the police participating in bringing the criminal case about (so, the County Attorney had to be in on it, too) through just one case - People v Carbone, and, as a witness, I was eliminated by the Northrup-Becker team.

By the way, before my husband Frederick Neroni got disbarred, in the spring of 2011, Northrup's career ticket to Becker's favors, Becker's law partner Hubbard, then Chief Assistant District Attorney to Northrup, approached my husband and, addressing his arguments regarding that illegal "pleas-for-waivers/bribes" on appeal of the criminal case People v Carbone, threatened my husband, telling him point blank that he is "burning bridges", and requested to withdraw these arguments from the appeal.

When my husband refused, in 2 months he was disbarred by Karen Peters' court.

Hubbard, not being extremely bright, also told me privately that the "pleas-for-waivers/bribes" policy of Northrup's DA's office was a "usual policy" into many plea bargain agreements.

I do not know whether Hubbard, now the County DA, still continued this illegal "policy", with Northrup, his former employer and benefactor, as a judge, and will continue it now when Northrup retired.

Did I also mention that Northrup, being a DA, refused to prosecute Ellen Coccoma, County Attorney for Delaware County, wife of then-Chief Administrative Judge for upstate New York Michael Coccoma, for her crimes committed during her illegal (in view of being a full-time employee and officer of Otsego County) representation of private clients trying to enforce - tada! - Northrup's botched will of Arthur Kilmer Sr?  During which Ellen Coccoma herself committed several fraudulent acts - but was, of course, never sanctioned given her pedigree?

I must say that before the Northrup-Becker-Hubbard-Coffey-Peters team accomplished their task to pull my license, though, I did have the money stolen from my client with the help of Becker, Northrup, Becker's girlfriend Shields, and County Attorney Spinney return to my legally blind client.

When Northrup became a judge, I know of at least one case where he acted as a judge in the case where he previously acted as a prosecutor - which the U.S. Supreme Court proclaimed in 2016 was unconstitutional.

Northrup could not escape conflicts in his judicial position where he became a judge in 2015 handling CPS and criminal cases while for 23 prior years Northrup learnt everything there was to learn about everybody in Delaware County through criminal and CPS investigations shared with the DA's office, as New York law requires.

He obviously could not escape making his judicial determinations in such cases (as his friend Becker did) upon what is called "extra-judicial evidence", information from reports he obtained during his 23 years as a criminal prosecutor - and this type of RISK of judicial bias is simply unacceptable in a court in a supposed democratic society.

Now, as a parting gift to Delaware County taxpayers, 

• this "distinguished jurist" retired mid-term - which means taxpayers will have to pay for an extra election for his replacement - and 
• used the government facility, at taxpayers' expense and during taxpayer-paid business hours, for his retirement party - he has hosted a reception, in court.

I have complained to the New York State Commission for Judicial Conduct about judges Northrup and Rosa's permission to use court grounds for retirement reception of a court employee previously (former County Clerk Sharon O'Dell) who quickly resigned - also "to spend time with family" - after I have filed a felony complaint against her with the Delaware County Sheriff's office for filing forged judicial documents.

By the way, the filing of the forged documents by Sharon O'Dell was in the case based on Hubbard's and Spinney's botched representation of clients - Hubbard and Spinney, of course, were never sanctioned, but I was for trying to get Becker off that case with the help of a motion to recuse.

The New York State Commission for Judicial Conduct refused to even investigate that complaint - which Northrup perceived as a permission to do the same and throw more parties in the courthouse at taxpayer expense and during court time, now in his own "honor".

What an accomplished individual!

Last, but not least "accomplishment" that came out from the official eulogy on Richard Northrup's retirement is his lament about the lack of criminal defense attorneys for the indigent/poor criminal defendants.

I already wrote on this blog 7 years ago how much it costs Delaware County to hire assigned attorneys for criminal defendants out of the County, and even outside of Delhi, NY where many attorneys live who judges refuse to use as assigned counsel.

Now that there is a full-time Public Defender's office in place in Delaware County, 

a need for additional assigned counsel should be reduced to those cases where the Public Defender's office has a conflict or is overloaded.

Yet, the practice, according to Northrup himself, of getting attorneys, at the cost of $60 (for misdemeanors) and $75 (for felonies and family court cases) an hour for travel time out of Delhi NY and out of Delaware County, continues.

Northrup says that he "solicits attorneys from other cities and counties" to represent the indigent, up to Binghamton (an hour and a half away, more so in winter time and in case of traffic jams).

To hire an attorney out of Binghamton at $75 an hour means that every personal appearance of that attorney in court costs Delaware County taxpayers $225 more than an appearance of an attorney from Delhi, NY.

I know of one "disqualification" of an attorney living in Delhi, NY within a walking distance to the courthouse (1/2 mile, 1-minute's drive, as Google shows).  She is the daughter of two attorneys, Frederick Neroni and Tatiana Neroni who Northrup with his friend Becker successfully removed from criminal cases - so that they would not interfere with their career paths by their effective representation of every client, privately retained, assigned or pro bono (which we did a lot).  Northrup never assigned one case to that attorney in his 6 years of judgeship, neither did other judges.  They preferred to have Delaware County taxpayers pay the extra $225 for appearances of attorneys out of Binghamton instead.

So, let's summarize the accomplishments of jurist Dick Northrup listed above:

1. a failed public defender and criminal defense attorney;
2. a failed private practitioner who botched wills so that courts could not figure out who gets what how after the death of the testator;
3. a prosecutor who has hired judge's law partner to (without disclosure to defense counsel) drum up more convictions from the judge;
4. a prosecutor who refused to prosecute that same judge for committing crimes in office;
5. a prosecutor who colluded with that same judge in an illegal policy blackmailing criminal defendants (including blind ones) into waiving their rights to sue the judge, the prosecutor, the police and the county for constitutional violations in federal courts as a price of getting leniency in plea bargains in criminal cases - in other words, the prosecutor was selling leniency in criminal conviction in exchange of waivers of personal liability for money in potential federal future court cases;
6. A person who illegally took the bench for 6 years after an illegal oath of office administered by a private individual, a friend and benefactor, former judge;
7. A person who presided as a judge over cases he handled as a prosecutor;
8. A person who wasted Delaware County taxpayer's money for personal benefit or out of personal grudges - by 

• not assigning local counsel to cases because they are presumably trained by skilled attorneys Northrup with his friend Becker already eliminated, instead assigning counsel from out of the county and having Delaware County taxpayers paying extra $225 for each appearance of such counsel in court,
• by "retiring" mid-term and having Delaware County taxpayers finance an extra election - same as his friend Becker did in 2015 to have Northrup take his place;
• by throwing parties at taxpayers' expense and during taxpayer-paid court business time in the courthouse in honor of his own retirement.

Northrup has accomplished over his lifetime of "public service" a lot - and a lot for which people without his prosecutorial and judicial immunity/permission to commit crimes in office would be doing hard time behind bars for the rest of their lives.

I repeatedly turned Northrup and some other local judges in for his shenannigans to the New York State Commission for Judicial Conduct, and they rejected without even an attempt to investigate them, even though they were supported with documentary evidence of misconduct, including criminal misconduct in office.

Given that NYS Commission for Judicial Conduct is a costly (for taxpayers) shredding machine for complaints against state judges, and judges in the state of New York are allowed to commit about ANY crime in office without any accountability, I have a serious question:

WHAT EXACTLY DID NORTHRUP DO that he was booted mid-term - because that's exactly what it is.

When a judge resigns (without citing health reasons) "to spend more time with his family, travel and sleep more and focus on his well-being" 

while earning $210,900 a year,

reducing his income to a nearly twice smaller pension - like his friend Carl Becker is now getting:

there must be a hefty reason for this - sudden, too! - "retirement".

It simply does not happen in New York without the judge being BOOTED FOR MISCONDUCT SO BAD that even the all-tolerating New York system of "judicial (un)accountability" can't take it.

Which, again, begs the question - what exactly could Northrup manage to do so that the all-permissive New York system would not allow him to "serve" out the remaining 3.5 years of his term?

I welcome input from local sources in answer to this question (confidentiality guaranteed).