Peekskill drug court judge resigns in the wake of misconduct allegations.
A veteran accused of stealing from Croton's ShopRite continues in the drug rehabilitation program, however.
Last March we told the story of Dale Page, an African-American veteran in his late 70s who had been arrested for allegedly stealing from our local ShopRite. In a deal between Westchester County prosecutors and the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County, who was defending Page after his arrest, the veteran was given a chance to avoid jail, after having already spent half of his life in prison. He was sent to Judge Reginald Johnson’s “drug court” in Peekskill, where he entered into an intensive rehabilitation program.
Page is reportedly doing well and progressing through the program, according to his current attorney, James Martorano of Jefferson Valley. But Judge Reginald Johnson is not.
According to a story broken yesterday by the local Patch online news service, Johnson has been forced to resign his judgeship after allegations of misconduct were brought against him. The judge is accused of sexual harassment, fixing traffic tickets for friends, abuse of his courtroom staff, and engaging in unethical behavior in at least one case. As part of an agreement with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Johnson has agreed never to seek a judgeship in Peekskill again.
Martorano, who represents a number of clients in the drug court, tells the Chronicle that “the Drug Court will be fine - we are all dedicated to the mission of drug court which is literally to save lives. I guarantee you we will continue to fulfill that directive.”
As for replacing Johnson, Martorano says that candidates are now being interviewed, and that other judges will substitute for Johnson until the selection process is completed, probably in a few weeks.
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