MICHAEL FEINBERG State says he must go.
Posted on 02/15/2005 1:56:10 AM PST by Liz
MICHAEL FEINBERG State says he must go.
A Brooklyn judge who lined his buddy's pockets with millions in dead people's money should be booted from the bench, a state disciplinary panel has ruled.
Surrogate Court Judge Michael Feinberg "irredeemably damaged public confidence in the integrity of his court" and "engaged in misconduct that cannot be countenanced," the state Commission on Judicial Conduct found in a decision made public yesterday.
"A public sanction less than removal for such egregious misconduct would be wholly inadequate," it said.
The commission recommended the removal after finding Feinberg, 61, had awarded "excessive and overly generous" fees — more than $2 million — to longtime friend and former judge, Louis Rosenthal.
The action comes seven years after The Post first reported that Feinberg was rewarding political pals with lucrative court appointments.
Rosenthal had worked on and given money to Feinberg's campaign, The Post reported.
After getting that donation, Feinberg appointed Rosenthal as counsel to the public administrator, a post that does legal work for estates of people who died without wills or heirs.
As counsel, Rosenthal was legally entitled to collect up to 6 percent of the gross value of a person's estate, but the commission found Feinberg routinely allowed Rosenthal to collect 8 percent.
"These excessive fees came from the pockets of beneficiaries of estates that [Feinberg] had a duty to protect," said the report, which also blasted his "incredible, evasive and unreliable" testimony before the commission last year.
Feinberg maintained he wasn't familiar with the rules over Rosenthal's pay because he'd just "skimmed" the judicial guidelines. The commission called his account "unconvincing and, if true, inexcusable."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Kickbacks? (sarc) Did I hear someone say kickbacks? Wonder how they divvied up the take?....."one for you, two for me, three for me, two for you..........."
His eyes are too close together. Never trust someone whose eyes are too close together, or whose head is too small for their body. They should lock him up.
For the panel to actually recommend expulsion from the bench is amazing. God knows what other crimes he's committed that have not been made public.
Clearly, he was appoining his pals to the lucrative posts with an agenda in mind......for sure, they did not support his election to the bench simply b/c they liked the way he parted his hair.
This also points up the flaws in electing judges rather than appointing them. They then proceed to become crooked politicans, as well as crooked judges.
Every thing in this state that has anything to do with politics is corrupt, everything..
It's disgusting what they've been doing, and how long these thieves have been getting away with it.
Corrupting the judicial system has to be the lowest of the low since the rule of law is the only thing we have that distinguishes us from dictatorships.
These corrupters are the epitome of evil.
Stretch: The Old Geezer here...
I reallly thought I was looking at Geragos..... But then, birds of a feather, flock together... one and the same
Epitome of evil!
Perfect.
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