(The former leader of the New York Assembly, SHELDON SILVER, a Democrat, was also convicted for corruption, by a separate, also federal, jury, at about the same time - the same article mentions it).
What is interesting is that the New York supposedly "free" and "independent" press, as well as "professional" prosecutors and the no less "professional" State Attorney General did not notice ongoing schemes of corruption going on under their noses for years and decades.
Or, rather, preferred not to notice them.
What is even more interesting that, as I have started a new series of articles about corruption in judicial elections in the Tri-County area (Delaware, Chenango, Otsego) of the State of New York in 2021 and 2022, I have READILY - READILY found evidence of the same scheme as the one for which SKELOS and SON were convicted by the federal jury, evidence in public access - that the "free and independent" local press does not dare to touch.
So, let's begin from the very beginning.
Last year Otsego County (NY) Supreme Court Justice Michael V. Coccoma (who was also the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge administering the entire state court system outside of New York City, a tremendous power) - retired.
I do not know Judge Coccoma's date of birth, so it is difficult for me to say whether he has or has not reached 70 when he decided to retire - which is the mandatory age of retirement for judges in New York. In other words, I do not know whether Judge Coccoma really retired or was booted - as TWO judges in Delaware County, one another's bosom friend and one successing the other, were - Judge Carl F. Becker in the summer of 2015, mid-term, and then his successor Judge Richard D. Northrup, Jr., in 2021, also mid-term.
The local newspaper, The Daily Star, ran an article about Michael Coccoma's announcement of retirement.
It is an insight into the quality of The Daily Star journalism though as to what it DID NOT report in connection with Michael Coccoma's retirement - despite information being in open public access.
Notably, at the same time with his retirement, Michael Coccoma's wife, Ellen Coccoma, was booted from her position as Otsego County Attorney and was replaced with another person, Denise Hollis.
The local press published a story about a meeting in December of the Otsego County Board where the then-County Attorney (wife of the just-retired Michael Coccoma) Ellen Coccoma announced that "she will not seek re-appointment". Which may very well indicate that she was, too, booted, as having lost her value for the Board - the support of a powerful public figure, a judge and a Chief Administrative judge for all courts outside of New York City.
Why I think it is more likely that Ellen Coccoma was booted and did not simply voluntarily left her position as the Otsego County Attorney that she has held for decades?
There are several indicators reflected in public records that she was booted as no longer needed by Otsego County where her salary was a perpetual bribe to her husband, a powerful local and statewide judge.
First, SeethroughNY.net, a watchdog listing salaries and pensions of New York public employees, shows that Ellen Coccoma is not drawing a retirement as a retired public employee, while Michael Coccoma does.
Second, the New York Unified Court system shows Ellen Coccoma and her husband Michael Coccoma are now practicing law 104 miles away from one another, after having "served" in government roles in the same city, Cooperstown, for decades.
Michael Coccoma (notably) was not accepted in any law firms as an honorary special counsel or partner, as it usually happens with retired judges.
That suggests to me that he either
- has no value to people as a professional practicing attorney (I understand that, having reversed a Coccoma's decision before I even finished law school, as a paralegal in my husband's law office who did that appeal) or
- was booted from his job other than "retired" - judging by his year of admission to the bar, 1979, and his year of retirement, 2021, he was not likely to have reached 70 at the time of retirement, nor did he announce that he is retiring due to having reached the mandatory age of retirement for judges.
I highly doubt that either the elderly Michael Coccoma
(year of admission - 1979, so he is about 69 years old now),
or the elderly Ellen Coccoma
(the year her law license was obtained is 1982, the earliest people obtain law licenses is 25-26 years of age - graduate from high school at 18, bachelor's degree, pre-requisite to law school admission - at 22, 3 years of law school, bar exam and next year - admission to the bar, so that makes Ellen Coccoma about 66 years of age at this time)
would make a 4-hour roundtrip every day on a snowy night highway
to have the happiness of living with one another.
Especially knowing Michael Coccoma's propensity of employing in close confidential positions and publicly "helping" in a significant way young and pretty female court employees such a sacrifice for one another between this couple is highly unlikely.
So - on Michael Coccoma's retirement he has most likely SPLIT from his wife Ellen Coccoma, thus signaling to Otsego County officials that she is of no value to him any longer
since he does not have to pretend any more that he is a married guy and a family man (even though the entire world knew, again, how he was playing around with pretty female court employees).
While Ellen Coccoma looked like this - probably, 30 years ago, and now, judging by her year of admission to the bar (1982), is no less than 66 years old.
Now, if your husband retires, splits from you and moves to live and practice law 105 miles away from you, you do not have to do the same if YOU did not reach the age of retirement in public service and if YOU want to continue practicing law.
And there are no age restrictions to be a County Attorney in the State of New York.
Had Ellen Coccoma been a valued professional for the Otsego County, who was hired on her merits and who provided valuable services for her high salary at the expense of County homeowners/property tax slaves, her retirement at from the position as Otsego County Attorney at the same time as her husband retired makes absolutely no sense.
She would have a professional value of her own - and a job of her own.
But that was not, apparently, what was true.
Several months after Michael Coccoma "retired", his wife Ellen Coccoma
- left the position of the Otsego County Attorney,
- did not move away together with her husband to Saratoga Springs, NY to happily or unhappily gamble on the horse race track, but instead'
- remained in Otsego County where she
- continued to practice law, like she did before for years in the law firm Hinman, Howard & Kattel - only now full time and without the benefit of additional salary and the power of the Otsego County Attorney.
Of course, it is illegal for a full-time public official, especially a highly paid (by taxpayers) and highly powerful public official, to work on the side during his taxpayer-paid time - and Ellen Coccoma worked for Hinman, Howard and Kattel for years while being the full-time Otsego County Attorney anyway, stealing taxpayer money and time.
And, the Otsego County Board knew what Ellen Coccoma was doing - for years, since I have publicized the fact of her working on private cases in court and at depositions during taxpayer-paid time as an Otsego County Attorney about 9 years ago, publicly, in a blog and in public court papers.
Nobody gave a fig about it - at the time.
But suddenly, the $95,587 a year that Ellen Coccoma stole per year from the Otsego County taxpayers
started to bother the Otsego County Board, and Ellen Coccoma was forced to announce that "she will not seek reappointment" after her husband's abrupt middle-of-the-year "retirement".
By the way, the "courageous" local press never wrote about this obvious corruption with employment of Ellen Coccoma, and did not write now about the interesting situation with loss of County employment of Ellen Coccoma now, which suggests that her PRIOR County employment was nothing less than a perpetual bribe to Judge Coccoma.
No judge-husband - no job now. Simple.
Will the FBI investigate what did Michael Coccoma have to do in return for that expensive (for taxpayers) annual favor to him in the shape of a lucrative no-show, but powerful job for his wife?
Will we see Ellen Coccoma, Michael Coccoma and whoever was brokering and approving the bribe in orange jumpsuits and behind federal bars?
Time will show.
What is sure though is that NY AG will never touch this case with a 10-foot pole.
Because this is not how things are "done" in the State of New York.
It is usual the fed's job to weed out corruption of high-ranking (presumed honorable, with an oath to maintain the U.S. Constituiton, highly educated, highly paid) public officials in the State of New York.
But it does happen.
Chief Judge of New York State Sol Watchler did do time in a federal prison.
Both heads of the New York State Legislature, Dean Skelos (head of Senate, a Republican) and Sheldon Silver (head of Assembly, a Democrat) were convicted by a federal jury of crimes of corruption.
Ellen Coccoma and even Michael Coccoma are of a rank lower than these guys - and a fair game now for the FBI since they are a couple of FORMERS now.
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