NYC Dem bigwigs rake in $200K from judge candidates in move critics call a ‘shakedown’

NY Post ^ | 9/21/26 | Matthew Fischetti, Peter Senzamici

[Libloather]

High-rolling Brooklyn Democratic Party bigwigs raked in nearly $200,000 in campaign donations from judges and judicial candidates in a move critics called a pay-to-play “shakedown” in exchange for nominations.

Former Brooklyn party chairman Frank Seddio, current chair Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn and their allies have collected $190,000 in contributions and payments from more than 90 judges and judicial candidates since 2012, when Seddio took control of the local committee, according to records.

Insiders claim sitting judges have bypassed rules that are supposed to keep them outside of the partisan campaign process, while others said candidates are pressured to attend party events and pay handpicked vendors — or lose their nominations.

“The public’s confidence in the courts is undermined when judges appear dependent on party organizations for political support, endorsements, or advancement,” said Ben Weinberg, public policy director of government watchdog group Citizens Union.

Empire State judges and judicial candidates face some of the strictest guidelines for political contributions in the country — with the exception that they are allowed to buy two tickets to political events at their lowest cost, at a maximum of $250 per ticket.

Sitting judges in local seats who decide to run for county judge are allowed to buy two tickets to the events within nine months of a primary or nominating event and six months after the election using “public declarations” of their candidacy — but records reveal jurists attend dozens of these events a year.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Conspiracy; History; Local News
KEYWORDS: critics; democrats; judges; shakedown

[Libloather]

Judicial pay-to-play. Something new.

[jmcenanly]

Not really. This sort of thing has been going on in NYC for a very long time.

[fruser1]

Now you know how communists make money.