THE EVOLUTION OF JUDICIAL TYRANNY IN THE UNITED STATES:

"If the judges interpret the laws themselves, and suffer none else to interpret, they may easily make, of the laws, [a shredded] shipman's hose!" - King James I of England, around 1616.

“No class of the community ought to be allowed freer scope in the expression or publication of opinions as to the capacity, impartiality or integrity of judges than members of the bar. They have the best opportunities of observing and forming a correct judgment. They are in constant attendance on the courts. Hundreds of those who are called on to vote never enter a court-house, or if they do, it is only at intervals as jurors, witnesses or parties. To say that an attorney can only act or speak on this subject under liability to be called to account and to be deprived of his profession and livelihood by the very judge or judges whom he may consider it his duty to attack and expose, is a position too monstrous to be entertained for a moment under our present system,” Justice Sharwood in Ex Parte Steinman and Hensel, 95 Pa 220, 238-39 (1880).

“This case illustrates to me the serious consequences to the Bar itself of not affording the full protections of the First Amendment to its applicants for admission. For this record shows that [the rejected attorney candidate] has many of the qualities that are needed in the American Bar. It shows not only that [the rejected attorney candidate] has followed a high moral, ethical and patriotic course in all of the activities of his life, but also that he combines these more common virtues with the uncommon virtue of courage to stand by his principles at any cost.

It is such men as these who have most greatly honored the profession of the law. The legal profession will lose much of its nobility and its glory if it is not constantly replenished with lawyers like these. To force the Bar to become a group of thoroughly orthodox, time-serving, government-fearing individuals is to humiliate and degrade it.” In Re Anastaplo, 18 Ill. 2d 182, 163 N.E.2d 429 (1959), cert. granted, 362 U.S. 968 (1960), affirmed over strong dissent, 366 U.S. 82 (1961), Justice Black, Chief Justice Douglas and Justice Brennan, dissenting.

" I do not believe that the practice of law is a "privilege" which empowers Government to deny lawyers their constitutional rights. The mere fact that a lawyer has important responsibilities in society does not require or even permit the State to deprive him of those protections of freedom set out in the Bill of Rights for the precise purpose of insuring the independence of the individual against the Government and those acting for the Government”. Lathrop v Donohue, 367 US 820 (1961), Justice Black, dissenting.

"The legal profession must take great care not to emulate the many occupational groups that have managed to convert licensure from a sharp weapon of public defense into blunt instrument of self-enrichment". Walter Gellhorn, "The Abuse of Occupational Licensing", University of Chicago Law Review, Volume 44 Issue 1, September of 1976.

“Because the law requires that judges no matter how corrupt, who do not act in the clear absence of jurisdiction while performing a judicial act, are immune from suit, former Judge Ciavarella will escape liability for the vast majority of his conduct in this action. This is, to be sure, against the popular will, but it is the very oath which he is alleged to have so indecently, cavalierly, baselessly and willfully violated for personal gain that requires this Court to find him immune from suit”, District Judge A. Richard Caputo in H.T., et al, v. Ciavarella, Jr, et al, Case No. 3:09-cv-00286-ARC in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Document 336, page 18, November 20, 2009. This is about judges who were sentencing kids to juvenile detention for kickbacks.


Saturday, January 31, 2015

The price Judge Eugene Fahey paid for his nomination to the New York State Court of Appeals


I wrote on this blog that the disciplinary prosecutor out of the Appellate Division 4th Department Mary Gasparini filed a "motion" for CRIMINAL contempt of court within my CIVIL disciplinary action for allegedly revealing records sealed by order of the New York State Appellate Division 4th Judicial Department.

Even though the order was sealed - until Mary Gasparini filed criminal charges against me and made that order an exhibit in those charges - now it is a matter of public record as a matter of law, because, ladies and gentlemen, one thing we definitely do not have in New York is secret criminal proceedings.

So, here is the order.





Note the names of judges.  One of them, Eugene Fahey, was recently nominated by Governor Cuomo to the highest court of this state, the New York State Court of Appeals.

Below please see the table of exhibits from two motions - my cross-motion to dismiss my disciplinary proceedings, raising constitutional questions, denied without reasoning or explanation by the 4th Department, including Judge Fahey, and the motion to vacate, renew and reargue that denial without reasoning, a motion made as of right.

Please, note the following issues in the December 17, 2014 order, unsealed thanks to Ms. Gasparini's unlawful efforts to start criminal proceedings against me within a civil action and to put me into the Monroe County jail in retaliation for pointing out Ms. Gasparini stipudity, incompetence and moral degradation:

(1) the order once again denies my motion without a reasoning - a good answer to a motion to actually give a reasoned decision for the denial of the previous motion, with over 100 exhibits;

(2) the order seals itself, and the motions and papers upon which it was made, based exclusively on Judiciary Law 90(10), a confidentiality statute enacted exclusively to protect the privacy of attorneys who are subject of the disciplinary proceedings, and nothing and nobody else - since the same records are immediately unsealed once an attorney is publicly disciplined;

(3) the order imposes and anti-filing injunction upon me, without a notice, an opportunity to be heard on that issue of access to court, and, once again, without any explanation.

So - a secret proceeding where the law does not apply and the court does not owe you any explanation as to why it is denying you relief guaranteed by the U.S. and State Constitution.  There is a definition for such a court.  A Star Chamber.

This particular Star Chamber, though, has a judge who is heading towards the highest court in this state.

Below is the table of only those exhibits from my cross-motion and motion to vacate, renew and reargue (which remain sealed) that are STILL IN PUBLIC ACCESS.

Think about the rage, stupidity, incompetence and moral degradation of judges - who rule your lives, ladies and gentlemen of the State of New York - who purported to "seal" public records from federal courts, from other state courts in pending and closed proceedings, information from the court's own website, information from other courts' websites, attorney advertisements on attorneys' own webpages, stories published by various journalists and sources on the Internet.

It is apparent that a SANE individual, moreover, a judge with any scintilla of competence and integrity, will not be able to say that he or she is SEALING a document which is IN OPEN ACCESS and remains in open access, and to do that without notifying custodians of the now sealed open-access document. 

Such an INSANE order can mean only one thing - the Appellate Division 4th Department, entrusted to make a decision about my reputation and livelihood, DID NOT READ my cross-motion and exhibits because - well - there were simply too many of them, and judges did not have time for this silliness, to review somebody's arguments protecting a livelihood of a civil rights attorney, a criminal defense attorney and a mother of a minor child.

If the court (Judge Eugene Fahey included) did not read my motions and exhibits which is obvious from the sheer STIPUDITY of the December 17, 2014 decision sealing documents that continue to be in open access in various places all over the web and in different state and federal courts, and the 4th Department definitely has no authority to seal documents within the Appellate Division 3rd Department or federal courts - but WHO CARES, right?

Since it can readily be established that the 4th Department panel of judges including the nominee to the New York State Court of Appeals Eugene Fahey did not read my motions and exhibits, what is the basis of their decision denying my motion?   What is the basis of their decision imposing upon me an anti-filing injunction?  My blog criticizing judicial misconduct?

Think about it: how much should a judge


  • drink;
  • snort;
  • forget his oath of office;
  • forget every law in the book;
  • be lazy and not read the motion he is deciding;
  • be stupid;
  • be crazy;
  • be bribed;
  • hope for a career advancement as a quid pro quo from a person with power;
  • all of the above;
  • any combination above;
in order to seal OPEN records that are still available - and majority of the "sealed" records were about corruption of the government in New York the following (see the table below up to Exhibit 65, I will keep working on it - I have 112 exhibits to analyze, it's a lot of work, so, please, stay tuned and bear with me):



Motion
Exhibit
Name of document in the exhibit
Where can you look at this "sealed" document in open access NOW
Motion to vacate, renew and reargue my cross-motion denied by decision of September 30, 2014 (decision is still sealed)

Exhibit 3
Decision by federal court to remand my disciplinary proceedings to state court, Peters v. Neroni, 3:13-cv-00180-NAM-DEP
Pacer.gov, open access to the public

A state court has no authority to seal documents on file and in open access with a federal court

Exhibit 5
Appellate decision in Mokay v. Mokay (see my blogs the "Mokay saga", and the most recent blogs here and here


4th Dept has no authority to seal documents from another appellate court


Exhibit 6
Order of disbarment of my husband Frederick J. Neroni (Mr. Neroni was not part of my disciplinary proceedings and was not put on notice that his order of disbarment, a public document, was now "sealed"


4th Dept has no authority to seal documents from another appellate court

Exhibit 7
Affidavit of Bobette Morin in the federal case Morin v. Tormey (Chief Administrative Judge for the 5th Judicial District)
Pacer.gov 

bobette morin case number.JPG

State courts have no authority to seal documents on file with federal courts


Exhibit 8
The list of members of the Attorney Grievance Committee, NYS Appellate Division 4th Department

The webpage of the Appellate Division 4th Department, the page is still there, in open access to the public



Exhibit 9
Printout from the web page of NYS Onondaga County Family Court showing that a member of the disciplinary Committee David Primo is the employee of Judge Tormey

The web page is still there, in open access to the public



Exhibit 10
Printout from the web page of NYS Onondaga County Supreme Court showing that yet another member of the disciplinary committee is a subordinate of  Judge Tormey

The page is still available and in public access here



Exhibit 11
A news release that the judge who is now appointed a referee in my disciplinary proceeding, Wayne County Judge Stephen R. Sirkin (referees can only be retired Supreme Court judges by law) is retiring

The webpage is still in open access to the public here
My cross-motion to dismiss my disciplinary proceedings, raising constitutional questions (denied without an explanation by a decision and order of September 30, 2014, now "sealed" pursuant to Judiciary Law 90(10))

Exhibit 1
Notice of Appeal in Neroni v. Follender, Delaware County Index No. 2013-331
In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions



Internal exhibit
Signout sheets in the Delaware County Courthouse showing that Judge Tormey never signed out the court files to look at them in Neroni v. Follender

Obtainable through FOIL if not in public access (a new signout sheet could be started in 2015)

Internal exhibit
Order of August 10, 2011 in M & C Brothers, Inc. v. Torum, Delaware County Index No. 2007-280

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions

Internal exhibit
Administrative order signed by Karen Peters, Chief Judge of NYS Appellate Division 3rd Department, Henry J. Scudder, Chief Judge of Appellate Division 4th Department, Michael Coccoma, Chief Administrative Judge of upstate New York, assigning Judge Tormey to a case where I am a party (and from which Judge Tormey recused).

The order has a stamp – "RECEIVED, Dec – 2 2013)

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions

Internal exhibit
Administrative order signed by Chief Administrative Judge of the State of New York A. Gail Prudenti reassigning to the same case as above instead of Judge Tormey (the Chief Administrative Judge of the 5th Judicial District) Judge Robert C. Mulvey, the Chief Administrative Judge of the 6th Judicial District.

The order is dated December 18, 2013

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions

Internal exhibit
Letter of Judge Tormey to me in the case Neroni v. Follender, Delaware County Index No. 2013-331 dated January 27, 2014 denying me an extension of time to file a motion to vacate, renew and reargue and to file an appeal (when I got sick and was on a sick leave for 2 months)

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions

Exhibit 2
Copy of the fraudulent Charge I Specification I in my disciplinary petition (now purportedly withdrawn by my disciplinary prosecutor, after I sued her)

Available on Pacer.gov, through Peters v. Neroni, in the records of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit

Exhibit 3
My letter of March 19, 2013 to Steven D. Zayas, attorney of 3rd Department Disciplinary Committee (who since resigned amid investigation into filing false time sheets) notifying Mr. Zayas that Charge I Specification I is false and of other mistakes in the disciplinary petition

The letter is pertaining to a federal case Peters v. Neroni, 3:13-cv-00180-NAM-DEP, and the state court had no right to seal it, the letter is also on Pacer.gov

Internal exhibit
Affirmation of service and Order to Show Cause and Supporting Attorney Affirmation in the same case M & C Brothers, Inc. v. Torum, Delaware County Index No. 2007-280 showing that the motion that I am charged with not opposing was made in December of 2008 (I was admitted to the bar in 2009);  Transcript of the  deposition on 9/15/2008 in M & C Brothers, Inc. v. Torum, Delaware County Index No. 2007-280, showing that Charge I Specification I charges me with NOT committing a crime of practicing law without a license
(that I was not admitted to the bar in 2008 when I was "supposed" to "appear as an attorney" at a deposition


In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions

Exhibit 4
My own attorney registration information on the website of the New York State Court Administration


Still available on the same website as of today, January 31, 2015

snippet tanya registration.JPG



Exhibit 6
International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, case Gryb v. Belarus, Communication No. 1316/2004 – showing that litigants out of Belarus are afforded to sue their country for human rights violations in the UN while litigants in the United States do not have such a right 

Still on the United Nations website, probably, they were not notified by the 4th Department of their decision to seal that document, I will have to notify them


Exhibit 7
The decision of the European Court for Human Rights: Igor Kabanov v. Russia

Still available on the court's website here

Exhibit 8
An article by Iran Human Rights organization showing that Iranian lawyers consider regulation of its profession by courts as interference with their profession's independence

Iranian lawyers obviously do not know about the 4th Department's sealing order, because the article is still on the Internet, where it was before

Exhibit 9
List of European member countries

Still on the website of European Union

Exhibit 10
Letter from Judge Mulvey to me saying that filing a Notice of Claim against a judge or suing a judge is not a basis for the judge to recuse, dated May 3, 2011











Summons and Verified Complaint in Alecia Bracci, Tatiana Neroni, Frederick J. Neroni v. Carl F. Becker, Delaware County Index No. 2011-714

Administrative order of assignment to the lawsuit against Becker of Judge Tormey, signed by Chief Judge of the 4th Department Chief Judge Henry J. Scudder and Chief Administrative Judge for upstate New York Michael Coccoma

The letter is on file with and is available through Freedom of Information Law from:

Judge Robert Mulvey, Chief Administrative Judge, NYS Supreme Court, 6th Judicial District
Judge Michael V. Coccoma, Chief Administrative judge of upstate New York
Kelly A. Sanfilippo, Chief Clerk, Delaware County Surpeme & County Court
Lori L. Metzko, Chief Clerk, Delaware County Family Court
Carl F. Becker, Delaware County Judge

The lawsuit is available from Delaware County Clerk, hard copy and on the computer




On file with the Delaware County Supreme Clerk and County Clerk

And with the following individuals:

Judge Henry J. Scudder
Judge Anthony V. Cardone (3rd Department, the judge is now deceased, but the letter is on file with the court)
Thomas E. Mercure (3rd Department)
James Tormey
Michael Klein, Esq.
Karen Ambrozik
Maria Barrington
Haydee Marrero, USC Executive Offices, NYC

Since it is an administrative order, it is available through FOIL request from the above individuals and courts


Exhibit 11
Court minutes and decision by Judge Tormey dismissing the case Bracci v. Becker, Delaware County Index No. 2011-714 on the basis of absolute judicial immunity, even for malicious and corrupt acts on the bench

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions


Exhibit 12
Barbara O'Sullivan's affidavit of service of the lawsuit in Bracci v. Becker

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions


Exhibit 13
Electronic notification to me by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York (federal court) confirming the electronic filing of a federal civil rights lawsuit against Judge Carl Becker, 12/19/2011 at 3:26 pm, Bracci et al v. Becker et al, 1:11-cv-01473-MAD-RFT

Still on PACER.GOV and on file with the federal court

Exhibit 14
The election campaign flyer that Judge Becker sent to my home during his 2012 elections


The flyer is on file with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York and in open access on PACER

Exhibit 15
Response to my FOIL request by the Delaware County Board of Elections dated August 17, 2010 stating that the Board of Elections, as of August 17, 2010, did not have on file original petitions or ballots from the 2002 elections for Judge Becker (Judge Becker's sanctions were imposed upon me within the 10 years that he was on the bench when he could not provide a valid certificate of elections.  The one on file contains a certification made at the time when underlying original documents from which certification was supposed to be made are gone)

The response is still available on FOIL from the Delaware County Board of Elections, and was filed as part of motions in Delaware County Supreme Court, Delaware County Family Court and U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

Exhibit 16
Certification of the Record on Appeal in the case out of Delaware County Supreme Court Shields v. Carbone by the then Delaware County Attorney Richard Spinney

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions


Exhibit 18
Decision dated December 16, 2011 in Mokay v. Mokay, Delaware County Index No. 2007-695



Exhibit 19
The certificate of elections by Delaware County Board of Elections for Judge Becker's 2002 elections filed on March 21, 2011 (after my motion to vacate his decisions because he is not a rightfully elected judge), and after the Board of Election answered to me on August 17, 2010 in response to my FOIL request, that they do not have original petitions or ballots (so they did not have any documents to provide a proper certification)

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions


Exhibit 20
Order in the DEC case, November 17, 2011 that I wrote about in the case where Governor Cuomo offered nomination to Judge Leslie Stein while she was deciding an appeal from this case in October of 2014

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions, Appellate Division 3rd Judicial Department and the New York State Court of Appeals


Exhibit 21

Order of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation regarding my husband  Frederick J. Neroni and is part of the controversy with appearance of bribery of Judge Stein by Governor Cuomo while Judge Stein by nominating her to the NYS Court of Appeals while she was reviewing and deciding an appeal from this case (enforced in Delaware County Court by the also sealed order of Judge Becker of November 17, 2011 – Exhibit 20 above)

It is on the website of the Department of Environmental conservation

Exhibit 22
My letter to federal judge Mae D'Agostino filed in the federal case Bracci v. Becker, 1:11-cv-01473-MAD-RFT asking to adjourn determination of the case pending the resolution of the related case in Pennsylvania

Administrative Decision vacating the indicated report against Alecia Bracci filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York on 9/17/12 in Bracci v. Becker, 1:11-cv-01473-MAD-RFT

Order of Custody by the Pennsylvania court

Affirmation of Alecia Bracci in the federal case filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York on 9/17/12 in Bracci v. Becker, 1:11-cv-01473-MAD-RFT

On Pacer.gov



Exhibit 23
Biography of Judge Carl F. Becker on the website of the New York State Court Administration

Still there today, in public access

Exhibit 26
Affidavit of my husband Frederick J. Neroni filed on 9/17/12 in Bracci v. Becker, 1:11-cv-01473-MAD-RFT

Pacer.gov

Exhibit 27
The State of the Judiciary address by New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman "Let Justice Be Done" regarding, among other things, the need to allow cameras into the courtroom

The address by Judge Lippman ends with this paragraph: "I look forward to re-opening a robust public dialogue on camera coverage of court proceedings and to working with our partners in government to achieve enactment of cameras in the courts legislation.  In the year 2013, with all the wonders of modern technology, there is no excuse for not making court proceedings fully accessible to the public".

Now the robust dialogue is prohibited by Judge Fahey who sealed this address by a court order of December 17, 2014

A CBS newspaper article "N.Y. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Calls for Return of Cameras to Courts"

The address is still on the web




























Still on the web, but I will notify them of the sealing court order

Exhibit 28
The deed from Judge Carl F. Becker and his wife Christine Becker to attorney John L. Hubbard (who is "coincidentally" a Chief Assistant District Attorney of Delaware County who has been regularly appearing in front of Judge Becker for an eternity), for the sale of Judge Becker's law office building (and practice?) to John Hubbard

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions


Exhibit 29
Affidavit of my husband Frederick J. Neroni filed on 08/06/12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in a case Neroni v. Becker, 3:12-cv-01226-GLS-DEP

Uniform Rules of N.Y.S. Trial Courts, Part 207.  Uniform Rules of the Surrogate's Court, copy filed on 08/06/12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in a case Neroni v. Becker, 3:12-cv-01226-GLS-DEP

My own affidavit filed on 08/06/12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in a case Neroni v. Becker, 3:12-cv-01226-GLS-DEP

My attorney affirmation filed on 9/17/12 in Bracci v. Becker, 1:11-cv-01473-MAD-RFT


Pacer.gov






Still on the web page of the New York State Court Administration, and on Pacer.gov in Neroni v. Becker






Pacer.gov





Pacer.gov


Exhibit 30
Verification page of the disciplinary petition against me, verified under oath by then Chief Attorney for the Professional Conduct Committee, Appellate Division 3rd Judicial Department Peter Torncello, filed on 2/18/2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in a case Peters v. Neroni, 3:13-cv-00180-NAM-DEP

Pacer.gov

Exhibit 32
Verified Complaint Barbara O'Sullivan v. Mary Bracci Hallock (Judge Becker's former client before Judge Becker came to the bench in 2002), Stephen Bracci, Peter Bracci, Countryside Care Center, Oneonta Fox Hospital, Delaware County Index No. 2010-1410

Affidavits of service in this lawsuit

Notice of Appearance on behalf of defendants by then Assistant Delaware County Attorney (now County Attorney) Porter L. Kirkwood who represented three private clients during County-paid time

Affidavit of service of the Notice of Appearance by Porter Kirkwood

Verified Answer by Mary Bracci

Verified Answer by Peter Bracci (Delhi Town Supervisor,  Supervisor of Social Services on the Delaware County Board of Supervisors at the time of the lawsuit).  Barbara O'Sullivan is his sister and the lawsuit was against him for allegations of wrongful death of their father and allegations of looting their father's estate.

Order of Judge Becker that Barbara O'Sullivan lacks capacity to sue (while such an affirmative defense was not raised in the answers and was thus waived).

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions


Exhibit 33
A printout from the LinkedIn public page of Alison Melinda Coan, attorney for the Professional Conduct Committee, New York State Appellate Division 3rd Judicial Department

The page is still there

Exhibit 34
A printout from the viewing logs on LinkedIn showing that Alyson Melinda Coan viewed my LinkedIn page at the time she was making a motion for a summary judgment in my disciplinary case.  My linkedIn page contained references to my blogs with political statements

The logs are still business records of LinkedIn

Exhibit 36
A newspaper article by Albany Times Union "Oversight Lawyers quit amid inquiry" about resignation of three attorneys from Professional Conduct Committee of the 3rd Department, including Peter Torncello and Stephen D. Zayas involved in prosecuting me, amid allegations of filing false time-sheets

4th Department sealed a blogpost by a suspended attorney Leon Koziol from whose disciplinary case that same court has actually recused

The article is still on the web












Exhibit 40
Charge IV in my disciplinary petition filed on 2/18/2013 with the federal U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in Peters v. Neroni, 3:13-cv-00180-NAM-DEP

The charge fraudulently charged me in January of 2013 for not paying sanctions which were put into the court escrow during appeal in August of 2011

Pacer.gov

Exhibit 41
A printout of notification of my husband's Pro Se federal lawsuit Neroni v. Coccoma, 3:2013-cv-01340 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

The notification is still on the web

Exhibit 42
Memorandum of Law by Assistant New York State Attorney General Mary Walsh in the open court case "In the Matter of Application of Eliot Spitzer as Attorney General of the State of New York to Re-Open Probate and for Putnam/Weinstock Inquiry in the Matter of the Estate of Beatrice W. Blanding, deceased" in the Otsego County Surrogate's Court (see my post "the Blanding saga"), File No. W-62-93. 

NYS AG's "Objections to Account" in the same case indicating that the law firm Harlem and Harlem inflated fees in the prosecution of an Estate matter, not to mention that the probated will was drafted by a sitting Supreme Court justice Robert Harlem who was prohibited to practice law

Affidavit of Robert A. Harlem acknowledging under oath that it was "imprudent" for him to have drafted a will for a rich benefactress where he bequeathed to himself 2,000 of shares of stock of the IBM Corporation worth close to ½ million dollars

The Last Will and Testament of Beatrice Blanding

Affidavit of Sidney Levine in the same case

NYS Attorney General's motion for leave to reargue

Affirmation of Mary Walsh

Memorandum of Law for leave to reargue by NYS Assistant Attorney General Mary Walsh.  The Memorandum contains with scathing criticism of misconduct of retired judge Robert Harlem and his son Richard Harlem indicating that the judge unlawfully drafted the will with large bequests to himself while being a sitting judge, used his son and his court personnel as witnesses
on codicils for secrecy purposes and retired early to be able to catch the bounty under the will and avoid scrutiny.

Several letters from New York State Attorney General pertaining to my Freedom of Information Requests

Letters are dated December 7, 2010 regarding public records about attorneys involved in the school scandal, signed by Amy Karp, Assistant Counsel to NYS AG;

August 9, 2012 signed by Asst. Attorney General Joshua Pepper, August 17, 2012 and September 6, 2012 signed by Joshua Pepper about the court case by NYS AG against yet another judge-and-son(attorney) pair, judge Frank Getman (now deceased) of Oneonta, NY and his son Michael Getman, Assistant District Attorney of the Otsego County, New York

Copy of the Stipulation in open court in the New  York County Supreme Court Case "Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York on behalf of the People of the State of New York, Plaintiff, against the Dewar Foundation, Inc., Frank W. Getman, Sr., Michael Getman and Nancy Lynch, Defendants", New York County Index No 401717/99

The Memorandum of law is available for review and copying in New  York Otsego County Surrogate's Court, and through Freedom of Information Law from the Office of the New York State Attorney General

This Memorandum of law was also filed by me in several federal court cases and is available on Pacer.gov




























On file at the following public offices and available for public review:

New York State Otsego County Surrogate's Court;
New York State Attorney General's Office
Pacer.gov

On file and available for public review from the office of the NYS Attorney General and at the office of the clerk of NYS Otsego County Surrogate's Court

All of these documents sealed by the 4th Department on December 17, 2014 were filed in the case Neroni v. Zayas, 3:13-cv-00127-LEK-DEP in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York and are available on PACER.GOV



Exhibit 47
My letter dated April 25, 2011 with a request to the Clerk of the NYS Otsego County Surrogate's Court requesting the file of the Estate of Beatrice Blanding



Exhibit 49
My complaint to the NYS Committee for Judicial Conduct with proof of service

Judge Becker's open-file order as the judge of the Delaware County Surrogate Court in the case "The Estate of Andrew Mokay", File No. 2007-21 granting to Harlem & Jervis on June 5, 2011, behind my husband's back, without notice to him or opportunity to be heard, attorney fees out of a Supreme Court case Mokay v. Mokay, which Harlem & Jervis seeks to adjudicate against my husband in April of 2015  as part of a jury trial on damages

Transcript of a hearing in the same Surrogate court case on January 18, 2011 that Judge Becker "sealed" in the Surrogate's Court and which was filed and is still on file in the Mokay case in the Delaware County Supreme Court, Index No. 2007-695

Judge Becker's two orders in Mokay v. Mokay, Delaware County Index NO. 2007-695, both dated January 15, 2012.






The order is available from the clerk of the Delaware County Surrogate's Court













The public can ask the clerk of the Delaware County Surrogate's Court to provide a copy of the transcript (it may not be sealed by law); or obtain it directly from the Delaware County Clerk in the Mokay case




In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions



Exhibit 50
List of members of the New York State Commission of Judicial Conduct

Still on the web

Exhibit 51
Advertisement by John R. Casey of his biography on the website of his law firm Hiscock & Barclays listing him as a member of the Appellate Division, Third Department's Committee on Professional Standards for 2007-2013 (John R. Casey's law firm represented Richard Harlem and Robert Harlem against Mr. Neroni at the time when Mr. Neroni turned in Richard Harlem and Robert Harlem for prosecution by Mr. Casey, while Mr. Casey instead decided to disbar Mr. Neroni without a hearing and then Mr. Casey's law firm continued in several other cases to gain financial advantage against Mr. Neroni based on claims of his disbarment)

Advertisement is still on the web

Exhibit 53
Official biography of Judge Elizabeth A. Garry of the Appellate Division Third Judicial Department on the court's website

Registration of Elizabeth A. Garry as an attorney on the website of the New York State Court Administration






Printout of the list of members of the 3rd Department's Committee for Professional standards listing a lawyer from Judge Garry's law firm (and the same class in Albany Law School) before she came to the bench Samantha Holbrook (Sherburne), off the 3rd Department's website






Attorney registration of Samantha Holbrook







Judge Garry's registration is still there

garry snippet.JPG


The list is still on the court's website, and Samantha M. Holbrook is still there, too.


holbrook snippet1.JPG


Exhibit 55
An article on Legislativegazette.com of June 23, 2008 "$600,000 is paid to settle pension fraud" by Maria Brandecker, Staff Writer

An article on Leaderherald.com of October 7, 2008 "Attorneys agree to pay $300,000" mentioning spouse and brother of the Chief Judge of New York State Court of claims Richard Sise involved in a scandal of embezzlement the State of New York of hundreds of thousands of dollars by claiming false retirement benefits and fees as school employees.  Judge Sise's wife is now manager of the Albany Office of Hiscock & Barclay (John Casey's law firm, see Exhibit 51 above).  So, John Casey disbars complainants about judges and sons-of-judges and rescues retired judges, their sons and spouses from prosecution by "adopting" such high-standing subjects for his investigation and prosecution as either paying clients (Robert Harlem, Richard Harlem) or law partners (Cornelia Cahill).

An article on Www.wktv.com posted in 2008 "NY settles fraud case with judge's wife, brother", about the same characters

An article on www.abajournal.com of October 8, 2008 "More NY Lawyers Settle in Pension Probe; $1.28 M Recovered to Date by AG"

The article is still on the web





The article is still on the web




























The article is no longer available on the web, but there are spinoffs in topix discussing the article here



The article is still on the web.




Exhibit 56
An article dated January 30, 2010 on TimesUnion.com "Pension Scandal School Watch" describing that a request was filed with the 3rd Department Professional Conduct Committee in 2010 (when John R. Casey was a member) to disbar Judge Sise's wife Cornelia Cahill, the judge's brother and other lawyers involved in the school pension scandal

The article is still on the web

Exhibit 57
Biography of New York Senator Neil Breslin, Counsel to Hiscock & Barclay (John Casey's and Cornelia Cahill's law firm) on the website of Hiscock & Barclay (attorney advertising)

The biography is still on the website of Hiscock & Barclay

Exhibit 58
Article in New York Times dated May 9, 2008 "Cuomo Sees Fraud in Some Lawyers' Pensions"

Article on Timesunion.com dated February 7, 2011 "A political legacy that's steeped in the bloodline" describing our local attorney from Delhi NY (participant in the school pension scandal) as "a friend and classmate" of then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.  Bruce McKeegan escaped the scandal with a slap on the wrist – disgorgement of some puny amounts and no attorney discipline or criminal prosecution

A press release of the New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli dated July 22, 2008 "DiNapoli Revokes Retirement Membership or Service Credit of Five Lawyers: Attorneys Improperly Reported as Employees by Five Schools and One Town" mentioning attorney Bruce McKeegan, the buddy of the present NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo

Article in "Capitol Confidential", blog of Albany Times Union, dated July 22, 2008 "Five more lawyers caught in pension net"
The article is still on the web




The article is still on the web
















The press-release is still on the Internet












The article is still on the web











Exhibit 59
Letter to my husband Frederick J. Neroni from the insurance carrier of Judge Michael V. Coccoma and his wife Ellen Coccoma explaining that the insurance cannot cover her legal representation in a case that my husband filed, pro se, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District Court against her and her husband, because the case involves fraud.  Mrs. Coccoma's partner from Hinman, Howard & Kattel the advocated for free representation of Ellen Coccoma at taxpayers' expense (even though she was sued for her private actions as a private attorney for private clients).  Ellen Coccoma was represented in that lawsuit by the New York State Attorney General at taxpayers' expense, see my blogpost "Assigned counsel for the rich"

Letter was filed in the federal case Neroni v. Coccoma and is available on Pacer.gov

Exhibit 60
Docket sheet from the federal case Neroni v. Coccoma, Case No. 3:13-cv-01340-GLS-DEP in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

Pacer.gov

Exhibit 61
Letter by Stephen R. Coffey (at that time Vice-Chair of the NY S Commission for Judicial Conduct) to my husband Frederick J. Neroni who at that time, together with me, represented a criminal defendant who fired Stephen R. Coffey where Mr. Coffey threatens that he will "absolutely prosecute" anybody who tries to obtain the bail money from the Delaware County Treasurer "for Grand Larceny".  It took TWO decisions of the Appellate Division 3rd judicial Department, in 2010 and in 2012, to release the money to Mr. Coffey's legally blind client.  Mr. Coffey dismissed a complaint against Judge Becker involving himself that I filed with the Commission for Judicial Conduct.  Stephen Coffey was never disciplined or sanctioned, even though he unlawfully unsealed his client's pre-sentencing report and filed it in open access with the Delaware County Clerk, not to mention that he threatened his client with a criminal prosecution in a civil fee dispute – that Mr. Coffey eventually lost.

The letter is on file with Delaware County Clerk's Office in Shields v. Carbone, Index No. 2009-440

Exhibit 62
The settlement in the criminal case People v. Carbone, Indictment No. 2008-057 where Judge Becker accepted a plea from a legally blind defendant that he drove the truck at the time of the arrest while a ticket was issued to his girlfriend for the same, in the Settlement "so-ordered" by Judge Becker a condition of the criminal plea is indemnification of all County employees, and federal employees (including the District Attorney, the police, possibly the judge himself) of civil liability in a possible civil rights action for the seizure of Defendant's property.  Judge Becker later assigned himself to a related civil case (bail release with Stephen Coffey), refused to recuse, refused to disclose the Treasurer (the Plaintiff) is his personal friend, failed to disclose an ex parte communication with the County Attorney (Plaintiff's counsel) and punished me for raising issues of corruption that were clear on the record from the settlement, now conveniently sealed by Judge Fahey

An application for bail application on behalf of Mr. Carbone in the same case by his attorney prior to Stephen Coffey David Rikard dated 6/27/08

Letter by Stephen R. Coffey to Judge Becker in People v. Carbone, Delaware County Indictment No. 2008-57 by which Stephen R. Coffey entered a criminal case without notarized Consent to Change Counsel from David Rikard as required by CPLR 321(b).  Judge Becker apparently was afraid to oppose the Vice Chair of the Commission of Judicial Conduct and allowed it to proceed.

Affidavit of Defendant Richard Carbone in the criminal case on his motion to withdraw the plea sworn on February 24th, 2009

My attorney affirmation of February 24, 2009 in support of motion to withdraw the plea of guilty

Exhibit for my affirmation – a check paid for the ticket of Mr. Carbone's girlfriend Sherry Kell for "driving the truck" that Mr. Carbone pled to

A letter from NYS Office of Children and Family Services confirming that Mr. Carbone was legally blind at the time he "drove the truck"

The Retainer Agreement between Mr. Coffey's law firm and Mr. Carbone for Mr. Carbone's $17,500 bail "upon resolution of the case" (Mr. Coffey's firm "worked" on the case for 3 months before being fired at the time the case was not resolved yet)

A New York State Court of Appeals case In the Matter of Edward M. Cooperman, 633 N.E. 2d 1069 (N.Y., 1994)

People v. Winkler, 71 N.Y.2d 592, 523 N.E. 2d 485 (N.Y., 1988)

The ticket of Sherry Kehl (for the occasion where defendant Carbone pled for the same occasion, at the insistence of Stephen Coffey, that he "drove the truck" for purposes of the plea)

Decision and Order by Judge Becker in People v. Carbone, Indictment No. 2008-57 dated March 13, 2009

In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions
































In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions



In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions












In public access in Delaware County Clerk's Office, available to look at in hard copy and on the computer by anyone without any restrictions













Delaware County Clerk in People v. Carbone, Indictment No. 2008-57




The same.









The same, New York State Court of Appeals, Westlaw, Internet



The same, New York State Court of Appeals, Westlaw, Internet


Delaware County Clerk's office







Same

Exhibit 63
A determination by NYS Commission of Judicial Conduct to take off the bench of East Greenbush Town Court attorney Diane Schilling, for participating in an attempt to "fix" a traffic ticket for a judge's wife.  See my blog about which powerful law firm embraced Diane Schilling here.

An article on Timesunion.com about taking Diane Schilling off the bench

NYS Court of Appeals case affirming removal of Diane Schilling from the bench














New York State Court of Appeals website, Westlaw



Exhibit 64
Printout from the website of the law firm Maguire Cardona, P.C. that embraced the disgraced former judge Diane Schilling as a partner, biography of Diane Schilling as advertised by Maguire Cardona PC, home to son of the late Chief Judge of the Appellate Division 3rd Department and Assistant Albany County District Attorney Anthony V. Cardona Jr. and to the niece of the judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York Mae D'Agostino Amanda Kurliyuk

Biography of Schilling (attorney advertisement) does not inlcude information that she was kicked off the bench for an attempt to fix a traffic ticket for wife of a judge

The biography is still on the web

Exhibit 65
Biography of Schilling's partner Anthony V. Cardona on his law firm's website
The biography on the web


I will add other open-record exhibits that Judge Fahey sealed to this table when I have time and when I feel better. The latest circumstances, as my readers might understand from reading my latest blog, have put me under extreme stress and my health is not what I would have liked it to be.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Attorney's lawsuit challenges constitutionality of attorney disciplinary laws, rules and practices in New York


I amended the lawsuit I initially filed against 9 attorneys including my disciplinary prosecutor Mary Gasparini.

The lawsuit now includes other parties and also challenges constitutionality of statutes, regulations, rules, policies and practices employed in attorney disciplinary proceedings. Here is the Amended Summons with Notice:







Thursday, January 29, 2015

When incompetence of a prosecutor is a jeopardy to the public


Mary Gasparini, while advancing CRIMINAL charges against me, asked the court to drop the burden of proof in those criminal proceedings to "by reasonable certainty", a standard Ms. Gasparini borrowed from CIVIL contempt proceedings.

And, while advancing against me allegations of conduct qualifying as a Class A (by the fine) or unclassified (by the term of incarceration) misdemeanor, Ms. Gasparini wants a secret, summary criminal proceeding without a jury, obviously to the standard of proof of civil contempt proceedings.

I am turning Mary Gasparini into disciplinary authorities as well as criminal authorities for appropriate investigations and prosecutions.

As to disciplinary authorities, they are, coincidentally, Mary Gasparini's office itself, because there is no other governmental body to turn her into for attorney discipline.

It is interesting, will Mary Gasparini as a disciplinary prosecutor, prosecute Mary Gasparini for her own incompetence and abuse of power?

Stay tuned...

The elusive decision of Referee Sirkin


The game of smoke and mirrors continues.

As I wrote on this blog, Mary Gasparini attempted to bring a criminal proceeding within a civil case, by "making a motion for criminal contempt" against me, see my previous posts today, with documentary evidence in them.

I wrote earlier on this blog that Referee Sirkin announced to me on January 12, 2015 that he allegedly "granted a motion" to the prosecution, while

(1) the purposes of the appearance was to schedule a fact-finding hearing;
(2) Referee Sirkin was appointed for the only purpose of holding a fact-finding hearing and had no authority to review or grant any motions;

and

Referee Sirkin promised me to provide his written decision about "granting the motion" to the prosecution during that same January 12, 2015 telephone call, but never got around to send that decision to me.

Yet, in the transcript of the hearing that Mary Gasparini filed in support of her "criminal" charges against me, there appears a curious last page, "Exhibits".

And as an "Exhibit" there appears a "Decision (5 pages)".


Mary Gasparini, as an attorney with many years of experience, must know that admission of an "exhibit" at a "hearing" must be reflected in the record, and any exhibit should be first shown to all parties before being admitted.

You will search the transcript of the pre-trial conference in vain to try to find the place where the "exhibit" (Decision, 5 pages) was offered for my review in any way, and where it was described and admitted into the record.

Moreover, the exhibit "Decision (5 pages)" was not actually attached by Mary Gasparini to the transcript and was not provided to me, either directly, as Referee Sirkin promised during the conference of January 12, 2015 on record, nor by Mary Gasparini as part of the court rules requiring the prosecutor to serve the disciplined attorney with the copy of the transcript with all exhibits, nor as part of the "transcript" that was provided by Mary Gasparini to the court.

This "Decision, 5 pages" is consistently hidden from me, same as the alleged "open file" that Gasparini first welcomed me to and then refused to show me.

Yet, a supposedly court decision on liability against me must be at least shown to me, shouldn't it?

What is so bad in that Decision that Mary Gasparini and Referee Sirkin are continuously hiding it from the very person whom the Decision concerns?

The mysteries of Mary Gasparini and Stephen R. Sirkin continue.... Stay tuned.

Poor, poor Ms. Gasparini


Disciplinary prosecutor Mary Gasparini wants to have the court punish me for allegedly revealing what was in my disciplinary proceedings despite a prohibition from a court order (which was not true, of course, but she does not care anyway).

The problem that Mary Gasparini has is that now she has an interest to either:

(1) withdraw the entire disciplinary proceedings against me, or;
(2) drag those proceedings on so that the proceedings should never end, which is impossible even for her.

Why?

Because by Judiciary Law 90(10) as soon as attorney disciplinary proceeding ends and an attorney's license is suspended or revoked, ALL records of such proceedings become public as a matter of statutory law.

Of course, records of criminal proceedings are also open to the public, with only three exceptions:

(1)  identity of sex offense victim (and only after conviction);
(2) pre-sentencing report of the defendant;
(3) identity of a confidential informant who did not testify.

None of these exceptions apply in my case, so records of my civil-turned-criminal proceedings under the civil caption are now open to the public, thanks to Mary Gasparini.

This is the first time I see (and I represented people in disciplinary proceedings and researched a number of cases all over this country) when I see disciplinary prosecutors fighting so desperately against the attorney they are prosecuting trying to prevent the attorney from revealing to the public what exactly they are doing in the disciplinary proceedings.

Mary Gasparini's desperation got to the point that she forgot completely what she was doing and inadvertently opened proceedings to the public by attempting to make them criminal - filing a "notice of motion", in a civil action, for criminal contempt of court against me.

Poor, poor Mary Gasparini.

I understand that the whip that you are holding over the heads of attorneys in this state is so scary that you think you do not have to know the law or have any shred of integrity to be a disciplinary prosecutor.

But, sometimes you slip on your own incompetence, misconduct and desire for revenge.

Poor, poor Mary Gasparini.

What will you do now that you opened the very records that you wanted the public not to see?