On Thursday, June 12, 2025, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct announced that Philip J. Gentile, a Justice of the Rossie Town Court, St. Lawrence County, agreed to be censured for misconduct. The Commission found that Judge Gentile engaged in unauthorized ex parte communications, made inappropriate and sometimes profane remarks, and made unsubstantiated insinuations about another town justice.
The Commission’s decision followed a Formal Written Complaint issued on March 3, 2025. According to the Commission, between November 2022 and March 2024, Judge Gentile had private conversations with the prosecutor in an assault case without informing the defense. He also discussed a motion to modify an order of protection privately with a local school official before denying the motion. Additionally, he used profanity in court. In January 2023, Judge Gentile made gratuitous and unsupported comments about a town official and judge from another community, suggesting they were having an affair.
Commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian stated that a judge’s impartiality is undermined when decisions are based on outside conversations that are not disclosed to all parties. He added that the integrity of the court is compromised when a judge uses profanity or spreads baseless gossip about other judges or public officials. Tembeckjian expressed the Commission’s expectation that Judge Gentile will be more mindful of his judicial obligations in the future.
Judge Gentile and the Commission’s Administrator entered into an Agreed Statement of Facts on April 24, 2025, stipulating to the facts and the sanction. The Commission accepted this statement on May 1, 2025, and filed a determination dated May 30, 2025, with all 11 members concurring.
The Commission transmitted its determination to the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, and Judge Gentile received the determination on June 11, 2025, making the matter public.
Judge Gentile, who is not an attorney, has served as a Justice of the Rossie Town Court since 2018, and his current term is set to expire on December 31, 2025.
A copy of the press release can be found here.
