Brooklyn Judge on Hidden Video Found Guilty of Receiving Bribes
NEW YORK (AP) —
A former state judge has been found guilty of taking gifts for fixing divorce cases after he was shown on hidden-camera videos made in his chambers.
Former Brooklyn state Supreme Court Justice Gerald Garson, who was acquitted of lesser charges, showed no reaction as the verdict was read Thursday.
Prosecutors built their case on hidden-camera videos they said showed the judge's misdeeds.
Garson had been accused of accepting a box of cigars worth $272 for privately advising a lawyer on how to handle a divorce case being heard by the judge.
The cigars were courtesy of the Brooklyn district attorney, who orchestrated the sting by wiring Garson's chambers with a tiny camera and persuading the divorce lawyer, Paul Siminovsky, to betray his friend in exchange for leniency in his own bribery case.
Garson, 74, had faced up to 31 years in prison if convicted on charges of accepting a bribe and receiving rewards for official misconduct.
The judge's defense attorney, Michael Washor, had argued that his now-retired client was guilty only of stupidity.
"There was conspicuously absent any criminal intent or motivation of gain," Washor had said.
