Former top Jersey City judge's law license suspended for fixing tickets

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
February 02, 2014 at 6:49 PM

Former chief Jersey City Municipal Judge Wanda Molina?s license to practice law has been suspended for six months by the state Supreme Court?s Office of Attorney Ethics for ?fixing? tickets for her ?significant other.?

He license was suspended for ?commission of a criminal act that reflects adversely on the attorney?s honesty, trustworthiness of fitness as a lawyer? and for ?conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation,? according to the disciplinary order.

In June 2010, Molina, 54, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty to tampering with public records or information, a third-degree offense, and falsifying records, a fourth-degree offense, before Superior Court Judge Harry G. Carroll in Bergen County. In August of that year, Carroll sentenced her to three years probation.

At her plea hearing, Molina admitted that between Oct. 30, 2006 and April 2, 2007, she took judicial action to dismiss eight parking tickets that were issued to a close personal companion.

Molina resigned from her judgeship on Sept. 21, 2007. As part of her sentence, she has been permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey.

The Office of Attorney Ethics also ordered that the entire record of the disciplinary proceedings be made a permanent part off Molina?s file as an attorney at law in New Jersey.

Finally, Molina has been ordered to reimburse the Disciplinary Oversight Committee for the administrative costs and expenses incurred in the prosecution of her discipline.

Molina could not immediately be reached for comment at her law office.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... tickets.html#incart_river

Jersey City's former chief municipal judge gets probation, with possibility of prison, in ticket-fixing scandal

Published: Friday, August 27, 2010, 12:37 PM Updated: Friday, August 27, 2010, 3:01 PM
Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal

The former chief judge of the Jersey City Municipal Court was remorseful and stoic this morning as she was sentenced to probation and community service for fixing nine tickets.

Wanda Molina, 51, told state Superior Court Judge Harry Carroll, sitting in Hackensack, that she regretted her actions.

Molina was sentenced to probation followed by 364 days in prison, but if she successfully completes the terms of her probation she can ask that the prison portion of the sentence be dismissed.

In addition, she must complete 500 hours of community service and pay restitution for the fixed tickets, an amount the court said is still being calculated.

Molina's attorney had argued just for probation.

Carroll said he struggled with the sentence, having handed down a three-year prison term last week for another figure in the tix-fix scandal.

While Molina had an otherwise exemplary career, he said, she must be held to a higher standard. However, former court administrator Virginia Pagan had admitted to a far higher number of fixed tickets, 215.

Also, Pagan pleaded guilty to second-degree crimes while Molina pleaded guilty to third- and fourth-degree crimes, which don't mandate jail time, Carroll said.

Molina has also forfeited her right to public employment.

Ten supporters were in the court with Molina and 20 letters had been written on her behalf.

"I had a lapse in judgment for which I am accountable,'' she told the court. "The punishment I have already endured for the last three years is one that will be with me for the rest of my life.''

When Molina left the court, she was hugged by teary-eyed supporters.

"We're very happy'' with the sentence,'' attorney Anna Cominsky said.

Molina and Pagan were among several Jersey City Municipal Court officials, including judges, snared in a 2007 ticket-fixing scandal following an investigation launched by Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice J. Gallipoli. The probe was turned over to the state Attorney General's Office for prosecution and moved to Bergen County Superior Court.

According to the indictment, Molina fixed the tickets for a close friend. Although she initially pleaded innocent, Molina admitted her crimes in June

Former Jersey City administrator gets three years in prison for fixing parking tickets

Published: Friday, August 20, 2010, 9:23 AM Updated: Friday, August 20, 2010, 1:01 PM
The Associated Press

JERSEY CITY ? A former New Jersey court administrator has been sentenced to three years in prison for fixing more than 200 parking tickets.

Virginia Pagan pleaded guilty in June to official misconduct.

The 55-year-old resigned in September 2007 as the administrator of Jersey City Municipal Court.

Pagan admitted using her position to access court computer records and dismiss 215 tickets received by her and her daughter. The tickets were worth about $5,000 in fines.

Four municipal judges also were implicated in the ticket scandal.

Ex-Jersey City judge admits fixing parking tickets
By The Associated Press

June 04, 2010, 5:20PM
The Jersey Journal


Wanda Molina in her first court appearance in 2007.

JERSEY CITY ? A former New Jersey municipal court judge has pleaded guilty to criminal charges for fixing parking tickets.
Wanda Molina is the former chief judge of the Jersey City Municipal Court.

She pleaded guilty today in Bergen County to tampering with and falsifying public records.

The 51-year-old Molina acknowledged dismissing eight parking tickets issued to a person authorities described as a close personal companion. Judges are barred from hearing cases in which they have a personal interest.

The Attorney General's Office will recommend a sentence of up to one year followed by probation.

Molina is one of four Jersey City judges accused in a ticket-fixing scandal in 2007. Two were accepted into pretrial intervention; another was cleared.

Quote:
All well and good, but Rosen should have followed protocol and had the ticket dismissed properly.

Judge Irwin Rosen returning to bench in Jersey City

By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
December 16, 2009, 9:31PM

Judge Irwin Rosen will return to the bench in Jersey City on a part-time basis.

The City Council voted 8-0 to rehire Rosen tonight.
Rosen was swept up in ticket-fixing charges that resulted in the suspension or resignation of five others Jersey City judges, including the chief justice.

Rosen was suspended two years ago when information came to light that he personally suspended a ticket he received in September 2004.

Rosen had parked in front of Temple Beth-El on Kennedy Boulevard, but parking rules had been suspended that day for Rosh Hashanah.

The state Attorney General's Office dropped its charges against Rosen in September.

Council members praised Rosen?s abilities and his return to the bench.
?Irvin is a very good judge,? Council President Peter Brennan said.

Report targets 13 in Jersey City for probe

Saturday, August 02, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A total of 13 Jersey City municipal court judges and employees have been referred to the state Attorney General's Office for investigation in the wake of a ticket-fixing probe that has triggered new court educational and procedural guidelines, officials said.

"This crisis - and I don't think I overstate it by calling it a crisis - has our sustained attention," Chief Justice Stuart Rabner is quoted in the Report on the Review of Ticket Dismissal Procedures and the Municipal Court System, released by the state this week.

Five Jersey City judges and a former court administrator swept up in the probe have been identified, but the others have not. Yesterday, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office declined to say who they are.

"Any referrals we received are being reviewed and investigated as appropriate," said Attorney General's Office spokesman Peter Aseltine. "We do not comment on investigations."

Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli's investigation into the Jersey City court in September prompted Rabner to launch a statewide review on Oct. 22, says the report that was released Thursday. Statewide, a total of 10 municipal court judges and seven staff members were referred to the Attorney General's Office for investigation, the report said.

The investigation led to indictments on the charge of official misconduct for former Jersey City Chief Municipal Court Judge Wanda Molina, 53, and former Court Administrator Virginia Pagan, 49, officials said. The crime of official misconduct carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Judges Pauline Sica, Victor Sison and Irwin Rosen were charged with official misconduct and forced from the bench last year. A fifth Jersey City judge, Vincent Signorile, took an unpaid leave of absence during the investigation, but he has not been charged. Signorile was later hired as a city attorney by the administration of Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

The report includes an "action plan" aimed at heading off similar problems. The plan calls for expanded training and a mandatory session on professionalism and judicial ethics.

The Administrative Office of the Courts will enhance its computer interface with the Motor Vehicle Commission to monitor ticket dismissals and improve access to driver information.

I am soooooo disapointed.

Innocent until proven guilty I always say.

This woman (Wanda) was my lawyer on a case I had, and boy was she good.

The only thing though that a family member of her's became ill and she could not represent me, so I had to retain another lawyer.

My NEW lawyer told me that some of Wanda clients never received the balance of the remainder of their retainer fees.

I thought about this and realized that I hadn't either.

I never received a bill or a balance sheet at the end of services.

But she represented me and advised me so well, and was never critical of my situation (other lawyers were very critical) that I never pressed the issue.

I was so happy that she made it as a judge.

It's funny, because I had a huge ticket that I was fighting and went to ask the clerk a question and noticed something unusual with the clerk and an officer.

Something gave me a feeling that they were "fixing a ticket" by their body language when I approached them to ask a question.

The clerk kept coming in and out of the judges chambers, and the officer was on the phone jotting down a ticket number...I dunno, maybe I was just imagining things but I just got that feeling.

Why is Jersey City so God Damn Freak'in corrupt?

Former Chief Municipal Court Judge Wanda Molina during a November 2007 appearance in Hudson County Superior Court.

Jersey City chief judge indicted in ticket-fixing scheme

by Rick Hepp
The Star-Ledger
Monday July 14, 2008, 2:52 PM

A state grand jury today accused former Jersey City Chief Judge Wanda Molina of dismissing eight tickets for a "close personal companion" in an indictment that charges her with official misconduct as well as tampering and falsifying public records.

Former Jersey City Municipal Court Administrator Virginia Pagan was also charged today in a separate indictment with dismissing 215 parking tickets that had been issued to her and her daughter. The potential fines on the tickets exceeded $5,000.


"When court officials engage in ticket fixing, it shakes the faith of average citizens who pay up when they get a ticket," Attorney General Anne Milgram said in a written statement. "Today's indictments send a message that these defendants are not above the law and there is indeed one system of justice to which all must answer."

Molina resigned last September after a probe by state Superior Court administrators, who have oversight of municipal courts, found she improperly disposed of parking tickets for her female companion.

She and three other Jersey City municipal court judges were subsequently charged in October with official misconduct following an investigation by the state Division of Criminal Justice that concluded they fixed parking and traffic tickets for themselves, family and friends. The charges in October only accused her of fixing five tickets, not the eight uncovered by the state grand jury.

Pagan has not been previously charged as part of the investigation. She resigned last September after being suspended for allegedly manipulating the automated traffic system related to their own traffic tickets in Jersey City.

Re: Irwin Rosen

If it turns out the only ticket he canceled was the one given to him incorrectly for parking in front of the synagogue on the high holidays, when the city suspends the usual parking restrictions, then I think the worst punishment he should get is a warning not to handle his own tickets.

If he really simply cleared a ticket that was obviously in error, then that's a lot different from clearing a valid ticket, or a ticket that might or might not be a valid ticket.

Quote:

Haha, so they are admitting to what they did but are arguing that it is not criminal? You really do get a peek at how these people think.


Quote:

Everyone else is doing it, why can't I? Its not like I'm supposed to set some standard as a Judge or anything.

f**king pathetic, although I agree this is probably mostly political.

JUDGES' TURN TO PLEAD
Scandal-scarred, off bench - yet fighting charges

Friday, November 02, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
Jersey Journal

The four Jersey City Municipal Court judges charged in a ticket-fixing scandal made their first appearances in court yesterday on official misconduct charges, and all pleaded not guilty.

Charged with second-degree official misconduct are former Chief Municipal Court Judge Wanda Molina, 48, and former judges Pauline Sica, 45, and Victor Sison, 64, officials said. The charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

Judge Irwin Rosen, 52, is charged with third-degree official misconduct. That charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $15,000 fine, but first-time offenders are not usually sentenced to prison.

Lawyers for the judges entered not guilty pleas and said after the hearing that they believe their clients will be vindicated. The court appearances went very quickly and the hearing seemed almost like a social event, with some of the judges greeting Superior Court officials, each other and friends as they entered the courtroom.

The most recent casualty of the ticket investigation is Municipal Court Judge Vincent Signorile, who took an unpaid leave of absence. His term does not expire until December 2008. Signorile has not been charged.

Molina has resigned her position, and Sison and Sica took unpaid leaves of absence. Rosen is on an unpaid leave. Four new judges were sworn in last month.

"We are under the firm belief that what is alleged does not rise to the level of criminality," said Rosen's lawyer, Michael Willis, after today's hearing. Willis and his father, Peter Willis, are defending Rosen.

"The charges are a tempest in a teapot, and at the end of the day my client will be vindicated," said Sica's lawyer, John Fahy, yesterday.

Molina's lawyer, Gerald Krovatin, said: "If there is a system-wide problem with the practice of courtesy dismissal of parking summonses . it ought to be addressed with a system-wide solution and not with selective criminal prosecution of a handful of judges."

Molina resigned on Sept. 22, the first judge touched by the probe. Just before that, two court employees were suspended based on allegations that they fixed their own tickets.

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Peter Vazquez released all four judges on their own recognizance. Vazquez said he expects the case to be moved to another venue.

The judges can still practice law.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Independent ethics probe

Jersey Journal
Friday, November 02, 2007

The state Office of Attorney Ethics has opened an investigation into the four Jersey City municipal judges facing criminal charges, an official said yesterday.

"We collect the information as it develops and becomes public, but our investigation is held in abeyance until the criminal matter is concluded," said David E. Johnson Jr., director of the Office of Attorney Ethics, Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Johnson said investigations conducted by his office can result in penalties ranging from an admonishment to disbarment. His office investigates independent of the Attorney General's Office and is not bound by the result of criminal prosecutions.

"We look at it from a different perspective, on how the actions affect their fitness to practice law," Johnson said.

Said Kieth Wilcher: "I got tickets. Now I don't think some of them I should be getting. They just be giving you tickets to be giving them. They could throw mines out."

Throw mines out? That's guerilla warfare, yo.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/nyr ... 3judges.html?ref=nyregion



If this keeps up, Jersey City municipal government could get a reputation for corruption or something....

Helene Stapinski; Fixing tickets in Jersey City? Why not?

http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/200 ... aybe_its_just_me_but.html

Fixing tickets in Jersey City? Why not?
Helene Stapinski -- October 16,

Maybe it's just me, but when Jersey City Mayor Jeremiah Healey said he was shocked and "certainly surprised" to learn that municipal judges had been accused of fixing parking tickets, well, I couldn't help think of Claude Raines in Casablanca. You know, the scene where he's gambling at Rick's and walks out of the casino just as a raid is coming down. "I'm shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on here!" he exclaims. At which point, he's handed his winnings.

I'm not saying Healey - a former judge - ever fixed any parking tickets, but he's got to be pretty na?ve to think it doesn't go on in Jersey City. Fixing parking tickets is as much a fixture in Jersey City as the New York skyline or the new Jersey City skyline.

Build it and they will come. That's been Jersey City's motto this past decade. Development has soared, as has the tax revenue, as has the population in certain areas, like Downtown.

I recently tried to stop at Fat Burger in Downtown Jersey City with my mom and two kids for takeout, but had so much trouble finding a parking spot, I got indigestion before I even ate the burgers.

FI finally parked the car illegally and sent my mother in for the food, then circled the block and circled and circled and circled. Jersey City's finest were circling the block along with me, waiting for me to pause so they could lay one of those whopper of a tickets on me.

Just because something is legal - like issuing a parking ticket - doesn't make it ethical. Jersey City, like New York City, raises its city revenue by ticketing hard working people who have made this city their home, or their workplace, or their dining option. If gouging people through parking violations were illegal, then fixing tickets for your friends would not be the norm.

As far as I'm concerned, the four municipal judges accused of fixing tickets shouldn't be investigated, they should be canonized. One of my uncles was arrested for fixing parking tickets decades ago. He is still remembered fondly.

A true sign of a civilized society is free or inexpensive parking. You'll argue space is at a premium in places like Downtown Jersey City. The space is there, it's just being rented out at ......a square foot. Parking for the people is simply not a priority.

Not that this is anything new in Jersey City. Years ago, I cut my reporting teeth at the Jersey Journal - the little sister to The Star Ledger. The company that owns both papers also owned the land on which the parking lot was situated downstairs from our office on Journal Square.

Offering free parking to us meagerly paid employees was not a big stretch for our rich employers. But no. The company chose to squeeze as much money as it could out of that space, never thinking to offer us free parking. Not even a discount.

We reporters were faced with several choices: park in the high-priced lot (which we absolutely refused, on principle, and on the contents of our wallets) or park on the street and feed the meter.

There was also a small alley which had no meters and if you were lucky enough, you could get a spot there. Police didn't ticket cars there, unless there was negative story about the police department that day in the newspaper, in which case, all the cars were issued tickets. (One particularly offensive headline "COP DROPS DEAD" led to the towing of several reporters' cars.)

The last option was to not have a car, which, for a reporter in the city, is equivalent to being a firefighter without your hose. We chose to park on the street, and every few hours, or days, got a new parking ticket, racking up hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars that we could not afford. One of my fellow reporters was even arrested for being a scofflaw because he owed so much in back tickets.

If only he had known one of those saintly judges.

Helene Stapinski is the author of "Five Finger Discount: A Family History" and "Baby Plays Around."

I just read these stories carefully enough to figure out that the Irwin Rosen in these stories is the Temple Beth-El Irwin Rosen.

Wow.

Anyhow: I love that guy as a Temple Beth-El member and think he's probably a kind, generous human being, but I think this story is an example of how Jersey City is such an ethically challenged place that some of the slime can rub off on just about anybody.

Maybe this is an example of why Steve Fulop is right to assume as a given that most other Jersey City political people are either naive or corrupt and I'm wrong to suggest that he ought to try to work with these people.

Hope 4 will bring order to court
Healy: The appointees have 'utmost integrity'

Friday, October 12, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The fix is in. This time it's not to fix parking tickets, but to help restore the reputation of a discredited court.

Reeling from the departures of five judges ensnared in an ongoing state probe into the improper dismissal of parking tickets, four new Jersey City Municipal Court judges were sworn in yesterday.

Before 100 or so friends, family, and court employees who took in the ceremony in the lobby of the Summit Avenue courthouse, Mayor Jerramiah Healy called them persons of the "highest qualifications" and "utmost integrity."

Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice J. Gallipoli, who's been running the court since the beginning of the month, said of the new justices - two private practice attorneys, a former freeholder, and a Jersey City municipal prosecutor: "They are not gods."

"But I have full confidence that all of them . will do all that's necessary to restore the dignity and reputation of the Municipal Court of Jersey City," Gallipoli said.

With that, Frank Babcock, Margaret Marley, Wilson Campbell and Radames "Ray" Velazquez Jr. took their oaths of office.

Babcock, a marathon runner and private practice attorney in Journal Square, took his oath with his 8-year-old daughter Erin holding the Bible, while Campbell, a Temple University grad with a Newark law firm, enlisted his fianc?e, Jerrion Benjamin, to hold the Good Book.

The Marley clan occupied two rows of seats. Mary Marley, the 85-year-old mother of the new judge, predicted her daughter would be "very strict."

"No more free tickets," she quipped.

An ex-freeholder and current assistant county counsel, Velazquez told the crowd "forward" should be the "word of the day."

"For that opportunity" to move the court forward "I am humbled," he said.

Marley officially replaces former Chief Judge Wanda Molina, who resigned on Sept. 21 amid allegations she improperly dismissed parking tickets for her female companion.

Marley will work full-time, the others part-time at nights.

Babcock and Campbell replaces former judges Victor Sison and Pauline Sica, whose terms had expired. Sison and Sica took "unpaid leave of absences" when allegations surfaced they improperly dismissed tickets.

Velazquez replaces former Judge Dennis McGill, who resigned in August and has not been linked to the Ticket-gate scandal.

Healy has chosen not to replace former Judge Irwin Rosen, who took leave when allegations surfaced he dismissed his own ticket.

"We don't know if he is going to be replaced," Healy said yesterday about Rosen. "The allegation involving Judge Rosen is less egregious than some of the other judges."

The fifth judge to take a leave as a result of the ongoing investigation - Vincent Signorile - cannot be replaced since his term doesn't expire until December 2008, court officials said.

All of the newly sworn judges - except Mary Marley - were appointed to three-year terms. Marley is filling Molina's unexpired term, which expires on Dec. 14. At that point, Healy could appoint her to a full three-year term.

-------------------------------------
also
-------------------------------------

Courting a better justice
Rabner eyes improvements in the system

Friday, October 12, 2007
BY KATE COSCARELLI
Star-Ledger Staff

After a summer tour of the court system he now heads, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner says New Jersey needs to invest more money in its crumbling courthouses -- and in its judges.

Rabner, who was sworn in as chief justice of the state Supreme Court in June, said in an hourlong interview yesterday that a recent $8,000 raise, the first in seven years, was not enough to pay state judges what they are worth.

While federal judges earn more than $160,000 a year and are allowed to earn money from other sources, such as teaching or giving speeches, members of New Jersey's trial bench earn $149,000 and cannot earn any outside income.

Rabner said that is less than what lawyers fresh out of law school can make.

"There is something wrong with a system that has that set-up," Rabner said. "We've got a state court system that is really the envy of the nation. ... Our compensa tion should strive for that same level of respect."

He said judges should get another salary bump to bring them closer to what federal judges make and regular increases to keep up with the cost of living.

Rabner's assessment came after spending the summer visiting 14 of the state's 15 court districts talking to judges, lawyers and staff. He began his visits in Bergen County in July and will wrap up with a visit to Morris County later this month.

Several courthouses are in crumbling condition. Many are seri ously pressed for space. Worse than that, there are serious health and safety problems at others. Rabner singled out Superior Courts in Ber gen, Passaic, Hudson and Camden counties as being in need of repairs.

"There is live mold that is grow ing," he said. "There are leaks. There is broken equipment that presents cause for concern as we welcome and summon litigants and jurors to come into our courthouses to carry out their business, and these need immediate attention."

Courthouses are administered by county governments, not the Judiciary, which makes it hard to address problems. However, Rabner said, the courts would "continue to stress and press local officials" for changes.

During his meeting with a small group of reporters in the Supreme Court conference room in Trenton, Rabner also talked about municipal courts. Noting a recent ticket- fixing scandal in Jersey City's Municipal Court, where five judges and three court workers have resigned, taken leave or been suspended, Rabner said he had no patience for such impropriety.

"One case of a judge who is dismissing his or her own ticket, even if there is a problem with that ticket, is a case too many, and we will have zero tolerance for this," he said.

While the Jersey City investiga tion is ongoing, the Administrative Office of the Courts is also planning internal reviews of other municipal courts.

Rabner also said 35 judicial va cancies are adding to the workloads of many judges around the state, and that the process of se lecting potential jurors needs further review.

Rabner said he also saw many things to be proud of during his courthouse visits. In Ocean County, every child who is adopted gets to pick a stuffed animal from a room full of toys donated by judges, local lawyers and staff. He also offered praise to the trial court judges who each handle about 3,000 cases a year.

"I was impressed by the quality of the judges I met, the high quality of professionalism that exists throughout our courts," Rabner said. "They do it day in and day out and I think do it in a way that instills confidence in the public."

Kate Coscarelli can be reached at kcoscarelli@starledger.com or (973) 392-4147.

----------------------------
and
----------------------------
Ticket-fix scandal prompts statewide review of municipal courts

By JEFFREY GOLD | Associated Press Writer

TRENTON, N.J. - State judicial overseers are reviewing the operations of municipal courts throughout the state following ticket-fixing allegations that prompted five of Jersey City's municipal judges to take unpaid leave or quit, New Jersey's top judge said Thursday.

"One case of a judge who is dismissing his or her own ticket, even if there is a problem with that ticket, is a case too many. We'll have zero tolerance for this," Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said.

As it examines the municipal courts, which generally handle cases such as speeding, drunken driving and disorderly behavior, the state Administrative Office of the Courts will alert prosecutors or the judicial conduct panel if it finds wrongdoing, Rabner said during an interview.

"This has our sustained attention," said Rabner, whose duties include supervising all courts in the state.

Municipal courts serve the state's 566 towns, with some of the smaller towns combining their courts or sharing a judge.

The Municipal Court for Jersey City, the state's second-largest city, is now under day-to-day supervision of a ranking state judge in Hudson County, and Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy has so far appointed four replacement judges.

The investigation by the state Attorney General's Office began last month. Two court employees have been suspended.

How much do these judges get paid by the city per year? And they couldn't afford to pay their parking tickets?

All four of these jerks: Molina, Sica, Rosen and Sison (yeah, ESPECIALLY YOU SISON) should be forced to give back their wages going back to the first time they "fixed" a ticket for themselves, their friends, or whoever, and also they should be disbarred from ever practicing law again.

Judges with absolutely no judgement abilities whatsover. Only in Jersey City, kids, only in Jersey City.

Another judge leaves bench in Jersey City scandal

Jersey Journal
by Ken Thorbourne
October 10

Yet another Jersey City Municipal Court judge has been dis-robed.

Vincent Signorile, a full-time judge at the court for more than a decade, took an immediate leave of absence without pay today amid an ongoing state investigation into the improper dismissal of parking tickets.

Signorile's departure makes it five Jersey City justices who have either taken leave or resigned due the probe that began last month when two court employees were suspended based on allegations they fixed more than 65 of their own tickets.

The most prominent judge to give up the bench has been Chief Judge Wanda Molina, who on Sept. 21 resigned in the wake of allegations she improperly disposed of parking tickets issued to her female companion, according to law enforcement officials.

The judges have been falling like dominoes since, with Judges Victor Sison, Irwin Rosen, Pauline Sica, and now Signorile all taking leaves.

The state Attorney General's Office, the lead agency conducting the investigation, has refused to confirm or deny whether the judges' resignation and leaves are tied to "Ticketgate," but county and city officials have said the departures are all due to the probe.

Signorile, a former city councilman and one-time chief judge of the court, couldn't be reached for comment today.

In his 11 years on the bench, Signorile has been involved with a few notable cases, including the assault charge case against Michelle Rodriguez, the actress who starred in the movie "Girlfight" and got killed off on the hit TV show "Lost."

The Jersey City Heights roommate who charged Rodriguez with administering a beating that left her with swollen eye and laceration eventually dropped all the charges.

Just last month, Signorile meted out a stiff bail amount and stern lecture to an 18-year-old from Harlem accused of leading a wolfpack of teens in savagely beating a 60-year-old Jersey City man.

Displaying his not-to-be-trifled-with side back in 2000, Signorile threatened to hold the city's corporation counsel in contempt of court for not supplying the court with enough prosecutors.
With the recent departures, the burdened court has been relying on eight part-timers from other municipalities to fill in the gaps, said Trial Court Administrator Joseph Davis.

To rectify the situation, Mayor Jerramiah Healy has appointed four judges due to be sworn in tomorrow. The City Council was scheduled to approve Healy's appointments tonight.

The appointees are Radames (Ray) Velazquez Jr., a former Hudson County freeholder and current assistant county counsel; Margaret Marley, a Jersey City municipal attorney; Frank Babcock, a former assistant county counsel and an attorney in private practice; and Wilson Campbell, also an attorney in private practice.

All are Jersey City residents, as required by law.

"Every attorney would like at some point to experience being a judge," Velazquez said. "In light of what's been happening at the court, I am excited to do my part to build the public's trust in the court again."

In Parking-Pinched Jersey City, Four Judges Are Suspected of Fixing Tickets
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By JONATHAN MILLER
Published: October 10, 2007
JERSEY CITY, Oct. 9 ? Four of the city?s 10 municipal court judges ? including the former chief judge ? are being investigated by the New Jersey attorney general?s office on suspicion of fixing parking tickets for friends or family, and in at least one case for a colleague on the bench, officials here say.

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During the past month, the chief judge has resigned and the three other judges have taken leaves of absence. In addition, the chief justice of the State Supreme Court, Stuart J. Rabner, has assigned the day-to-day operations of the court to a Superior Court judge from Hudson County.

In a state regularly buffeted by the indictments and convictions of public officials, the trial court administrator here, Joseph F. Davis, added an ominous note.

?People are concerned with what they?re seeing,? Mr. Davis, whose position is part of the state court system, said in a recent telephone interview, ?and others may be concerned with our ongoing investigation.?

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy ? a former Jersey City municipal court judge himself who appointed the recently-resigned chief judge to her $109,265-a-year position ? said he was shocked and saddened.

?People have a right to be disappointed and somewhat angered,? Mr. Healy said in a recent interview. ?I was certainly surprised.?

In this growing and gentrifying city, the disclosure has resonated with many over what is a perennially volatile subject: the scarcity of parking spaces and the price paid for violations.

?It?s unconscionable,? Randy Cuevas, 19, a hip-hop music producer, said on Tuesday after paying the court $110 for a parking violation and additional costs. Next, Mr. Cuevas said, he was headed to the city?s parking authority, where he would pay $120 to remove a Denver boot, which locks illegally parked cars in place. ?I?m paying tickets left and right.?

According to officials here, the judges being investigated include Chief Judge Wanda Molina, who resigned last month, and Pauline E. Sica, Irwin Rosen and Victor G. Sison, who took unpaid leaves. None of the judges responded to telephone calls seeking comment.

The latter three gave the mayor letters expressing their intentions to take leaves of absenc

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Seriously: I think that El Magnifico could have talked about the demographics of Newport Pavonia in more genteel terms, but I really wish we could get him back and have him tell us more about what he saw when he was visiting the local courts this past summer.

It sounded as if he had some serious, detailed, valid concerns about how things were being run, and it seems to me that really systematic judicial corruption could have something to do with the persistence of a lot of our obvious open-air drug supermarkets.

If you needed to have $50,000 to buy a local judge and all you could buy was leniency for one stupid kid, then, OK, that might be life.

But it sounds as if the municipal court was so corrupt that the judges completely ignored the law to get out of teeny parking tickets.

If the municipal judges are so blatantly corrupt about parking tickets, it's easy to believe that the defense lawyers could buy them pretty cheaply.

If all it takes to buy a municipal judge around here is a dinner at Edward's Steakhouse, it seems as if it might not be all that terribly expensive to buy a state court judge.

Amidst a widening probe into allegations of ticket-fixing in Jersey City, another municipal court judge has left the bench.

Victor Sison delivered a terse letter to Mayor Jerramiah Healy and Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli yesterday morning announcing he was taking an unpaid leave of absence from his position immediately. His letter does not offer a reason and calls to his New York and New Jersey law offices yesterday afternoon were not returned.

Sison joins colleagues Pauline Sica, Erwin Rosen and Wanda Molina in removing themselves from the bench in the past two weeks. All the cases involve what has been described as the improper handling of parking tickets.

The New Jersey Law Journal reported Monday that Gallipoli questioned Sica about tickets she may have fixed for another judge. Sison is believed to be the other judge, sources told The Jersey Journal.

Sica announced Friday she was taking an unpaid leave. Rosen announced his leave Wednesday after allegations that he improperly dismissed a ticket he had been issued, and Molina resigned Sept. 20 after allegations surfaced that she had improperly disposed of tickets issued to her romantic partner.

The allegations against Molina and others have been referred to the criminal justice division of the state Attorney General's office, said Trial Court Administrator Joe Davis of the Hudson County Superior Court.

Neither Davis nor a spokesman for state Attorney General Anne Milgram would comment on the number of allegations, although Davis said all the allegations so far concern the improper handling of parking tickets.

"I am not at liberty to indicate whether these are employees, judges or both," Davis said, although he later added: "I'm certainly disappointed to date, disappointed with the number of referrals we've had to make to the state Attorney General's Office."

There are normally 10 sitting judges in the municipal court. Davis said that currently only six are taking cases, but judges throughout Hudson County are handling cases left behind by the judges who are absent.

On Tuesday, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner announced Gallipoli would assume direct leadership of the court.

Thursday, October 04, 2007
By N. CLARK JUDD
Jersey Journal

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How much did that position pay!

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Look in the mirror Healy, you ass!

Now that ANOTHER JC judge has resigned due to improperly handling parking tickets (see below), a question comes to mind. Has there ever been a prior legal precedent where the public overturned their "guilty" pleas and recovered the fines they paid since the professionals ajudicating their cases were not acting in good faith (ie; were corrupt).

Just curious, since I probably financed at least one wing of the municipal court on ALL of the parking tickets I've paid over the years.

JUDGE ARTICLE - SOURCE: JJ
Another judge leaves the bench in wake of ticket-fixing scandal
by Ken Thorbourne
Monday October 01, 2007, 3:14 PM

Yet another Jersey City municipal court judge has stepped down from the bench in the wake of an ongoing investigation into the improper dismissal of tickets.

Late Friday, Judge Pauline Sica requested an immediate "leave of absence" in a letter sent to Mayor Jerramiah Healy and state Superior Court Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli, said Trial Court Administrator Joseph Davis.

Davis refused to comment further, saying "the matter is still under investigation, including by the state Attorney General's Office."

Sica, 55, couldn't be reached for comment.

Appointed July 23, 2001, Sica earns $42,623 annually as a part-time municipal judge, according to city records.

Chief Municipal Court Judge Wanda Molina resigned Sept. 20 in the wake of allegations she improperly disposed of parking tickets issued to her female companion, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Then on Sept. 26, Municipal Court Judge Erwin Rosen took an unpaid leave of absence as a result of allegations he "improperly dismissed one of his own parking tickets," officials said.

The Attorney General's Office is also investigating Municipal Court employees Victor Matos and Virginia Pagan, who were suspended based on allegations that they fixed their own tickets, officials said.

JC Judge Disposed Of Lover's Parking Tix
Wanda Molina Resigns; Local Residents Disgusted

Christine Sloan Reporting
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_270170740.html

(CBS) JERSEY CITY At Jersey City's Municipal Court, where the parking enforcement Thursday was busy at work, word of the scandal spread quickly.

Wanda Molina is no longer a judge here after sources say she disposed of parking tickets issued to a woman with whom she is believed to be romantically involved.

"We're happy Judge Molina realized she made a mistake and resigned," Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said.

Residents like Termaine Frierson -- here to fight a parking ticket -- say they're furious.

"I?m not trying to pay anymore free tickets," Frierson said. "For everyone else to be trying to get by on tickets isn't fair."

Added Jersey City resident Sebastian Cuprill: "She wouldn't do that for a regular person like me. If you're a judge you're supposed to be on one side of the law."

Said Kieth Wilcher: "I got tickets. Now I don't think some of them I should be getting. They just be giving you tickets to be giving them. They could throw mines out."

While Sources say the Attorney General's Office is now involved no one there will confirm if Molina is actually being investigated. Neither Molina nor her attorney could be reached for comment.

"Everyone's disappointed but in the court system this kind of action cannot be tolerated," Healy said.

It's important to note criminal charges haven't been filed. Sources tell CBS 2 HD a superior court judge investigating ticket-fixing by some municipal court employees came across the tickets Molina allegedly dismissed.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office is not commenting.

COURT IN A 'FIX'
A.G. probes ticket scandal dogging 2 city judges

Thursday, September 27, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The inquiry into "Ticket-gate" widened yesterday as the state Attorney General's Office announced it has launched an investigation into issues leading to the resignation of Jersey City's chief municipal court judge who, according to sources, may fixed tickets for a woman she was romantically involved with.

It also came to light yesterday that another judge has taken an unpaid leave of absence related to fixing tickets, officials said.

Jersey City Chief Municipal Court Judge Wanda Molina resigned Sept. 20 in the wake of allegations she improperly disposed of parking tickets issued to her partner, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Municipal Court Judge Erwin Rosen took an unpaid leave of absence effective Tuesday as a result of allegations he "improperly dismissed one of his own parking tickets," according to the same sources.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office had been investigating ticket fixing by Municipal Court employees, but Hudson County Trial Court Administrator Joseph Davis confirmed yesterday that the Attorney General's Office has become the lead agency looking into the matter.

Along with Molina, the Attorney General's Office is investigating Municipal Court employees Victor Matos and Virginia Pagan, who were suspended based on allegations that they fixed their own tickets, officials said. Their suspensions came before Molina's resignation.

Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for Mayor Jerramiah Healy, said Healy received a letter from Rosen yesterday saying he was stepping down for an unspecified period of time. Rosen has been a part-time Municipal Court judge - a position that pays about $20,000 - for about 10 years, Morrill said.

"I am very familiar with Mr. Rosen's performance as a judge and it was almost always done with perfection," Healy said. "Without fail he has treated prosecutors, lawyers, defendants, complainants, police officers, clerks and everyone who goes before him with the utmost courtesy."

The investigation "will take its course, but I would reiterate that there have been no criminal charges made at this point," said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner has appointed state Superior Court Judge Sheila A. Venable to temporarily fill Molina's position.

Neither Rosen, nor Molina's attorney, could be reached for comment yesterday.

Jersey City's chief judge resigns amidst investigation

by Michaelangelo Conte -- Jersey Journal -- September 21

Jersey City Chief Municipal Court Judge Wanda Molina resigned yesterday in the midst of an investigation related to parking tickets.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said he expects his office will look into the matter, adding that he wants "to make it clear that there are no criminal charges."

He said the resignation "had to do with parking tickets, the disposition of parking tickets."

Molina sent a copy of her resignation to state Superior Court Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli, who said the resignation was effective as of noon yesterday.

Earlier this month, two court employees Victor Matos and Virginia Paga were suspended for fixing their own tickets. The suspension came on the recommendation of Molina, who reported the allegation to Gallipoli and the Jersey City Corporation Counsel's office.

Healy said he has asked Gallipoli to appoint a judge to oversee municipal court operations until the investigations are complete.

From 1998 to 2001 Molina was a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court District VI Ethics Committee, which looks into grievances filed against attorneys.

Neither DeFazio, Healy or Gallipoli would say if the allegation against Molina involved her own tickets.

OWN TICKETS FIXED?
2 suspended, allegations are probed

By EARL MORGAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
September 10

Two Jersey City Municipal Court administrators have been suspended over allegations they fixed their own tickets, according to court officials.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio confirmed that his office is investigating the charges, which, sources say, involve approximately 65 traffic and parking tickets issued to the employees, Victor Matos and Virginia Pagan. It could not be learned whether the two are being paid during their suspension.

According to city officials, the employees were suspended on the recommendation of the chief municipal court judge, Wanda Molina, who reported the allegations to state Superior Court Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli and the Jersey City Corporation Counsel's office.

The actual notice to the employees was issued by the Business Administrator's office, according to sources.

Neither Matos nor Pagan could be reached for comment.

Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for Mayor Jerramiah Healy, confirmed the suspensions.

"Certain improprieties have been alleged and the city is fully cooperating with an ongoing investigation of the matter as well as conducting its own investigation," said Morrill. "At their conclusion, if needed, appropriate action will be taken."

The city's municipal court has been the subject of criticism from several city council members, who have said they received complaints from constituents who have received subpoenas from the court with conflicting dates and have been unable to contact court personnel by phone.