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TROY---The city of Troy is fortifying its legal staff with ousted judges.
Former Albany Supreme Court Judge Thomas J. Spargo, removed from the bench last month by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct for multiple counts of misconduct, will assume his new position as deputy corporation counsel for Troy on Monday.
Former Troy City Court judge Henry Bauer had been hired by Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian as deputy corporation counsel asfter he was removed from the bench in 2005 for violating the constitutional rights of defendants and allegedly coercing guilty pleas. Bauer was elected to the City Council last year became council president. He is no longer on the city's legal staff.
The judicial panel had voted to remove Spargo last month, finding that his conduct as a judge was "totally inconsistent with the high standards of integrity and propriety required of members of the judiciary".
Although several charges had been filed against Spargo in the formal complaint against him, ultimately it was his attempt to shakedown various lawyers, soliciting funds from them for a defense fund established to help defray his legal expenses which the commission found constituted the worse misconduct, after the initial disciplinary complaint had been filed against him.
The mayor has reportedly said that Spargo's ethical issues as judge won't affect how he will represent the city.
Spargo's annual salary as judge was $136,700. He will earn $30,000 in his part-time position with the city. 4-22-06
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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