Ex-judge Michael Maggio seeks dismissal of bribery case

On Tuesday, August 10, 2022, Yonkers Times reported that former Putnam County District Attorney Adam Levy filed a complaint in the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court against Janet DiFiore, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals and of the State of New York, for misconduct and failure to recuse herself from two criminal cases. In the complaint, Levy alleged that Judge DiFiore improperly used her office to protect her campaign finance chair, Westchester attorney George Galgano. Galgano was charged with trying to influence witnesses in a Putnam rape case; found with cocaine in his Westchester office while law enforcement was conducting a search warrant, and was accused of tampering with a juror in a Westchester case before Judge David Zuckerman. The complaint states:

“On 6/17/14, my office’s wiretap intercepted a conversation during which Galgano, who was trying a case in Westchester County, gave his Office Manager Stefani Capolongo directions, both in a phone call and via text messages (which he later deleted), describing how a Westchester County prospective juror, known to her, should respond to voir dire questions so as to deceive the DA and court as to her partiality. Galgano further directed Capolongo to make sure no one talks to anyone, including the police, a directive that was followed because no one did ultimately cooperate with the police.”

The complaint also notes:

“The evidence is incontrovertible,” that DiFiore “abused her power, violated her oath of office, and violated the Rules of Professional Responsibility… to protect George Galgano from the consequences of his actions.”

The complaint further alleges:

“DiFiore willfully and unlawfully obstructed justice by impeding, obstructing, hindering, and preventing my office’s investigation and prosecution, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office’s investigation and prosecution, and this Committee’s investigation into George Galgano, by withholding documents and impeding the governmental function of his prosecution, and preventing prosecutors from performing their official function to take legal action against Galgano by means of her interference.”

The Judge earned a law degree from St. John’s University School of Law in 1981. Source: Yonkers Times   [button link="https://yonkerstimes.com/outgoing-nys-chief-justice-difiore-now-subject-to-grievance-probe/" type="icon" newwindow="yes"] Full story here[/button]