Former Judge’s Ethics Hearing Set

TRENTON — Former Superior Court Judge Steven Perskie will have his day in court regarding ethics complaints filed last September.
The Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct has scheduled formal hearings on the matter for July 19-21, in the Supreme Court Courtroom at the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton.
Perskie, who presided over civil cases in Atlantic and Cape May counties, had a formal complaint lodged against him on Sept. 9 by Candace Moody, counsel for the Advisory Committee. The complaint charged Perskie with violations of four canons and two rules governing judicial behavior, specifically:
• Canon 1, which requires judges to observe high standards of conduct
• Canon 2A, which requires judges to respect and comply with the law and to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary
• Canon 2B, which prohibits judges from lending the prestige of their office to advance private interests
• Canon 3C(1), which requires judges to recuse themselves in any proceeding in which their impartiality might reasonably be questioned
• Rule 1:12-1(f), for the conflict of interest
• Rule 2:15-8(a)(6), for bringing the judicial office into disrepute.
According to the complaint, Perskie failed to remove himself in a timely manner from a lawsuit initiated in February 2005 that involved a long-time business associate, political ally and personal friend Frank Siracusa. Perskie also failed to disclose the extent of his relationship with Siracusa, the complaint alleged.
After Perskie remove himself in October 2006, he allegedly visited the courtroom of Judge William Nugent to whom the case was transferred and spoke with lawyers involved in the case. The complaint further alleges that Perskie lied to a Senate Judiciary Committee about the incident during his reappointment hearing.
Perskie said he did nothing wrong.
“Respondent (Perskie) denies all charges against him and prays that the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct recommend that the Supreme Court dismiss the complaint in its entirety,” wrote attorney Frank Corrado, of the Wildwood Law Firm Barry, Corrado, Grassi & Gibson, in Perskie’s answer to the complaint.
Perskie, 65, was first appointed to the bench in 1982 by Gov. Tom Kean, serving until 1987, when he left to run Gov. James Florio’s campaign and serve as his chief of staff. He was reappointed to the courts in 2001 and confirmed by the state Senate for permanent tenure in December 2008. Perskie’s father and grandfather were also New Jersey judges.
In the 1970s, Perskie was elected to both houses of state legislature, where he was a noted advocate of Atlantic City casino gambling. In the 1990s, he chaired the Casino Control Commission, worked for a gaming firm and ran a private law practice.
Following this ethics complaint, Perskie retired from the bench on Feb. 1 this year. He joined the Linwood law firm of Perskie Mairone Brog & Baylinson.