Spargo Goes, Goes, Goes

Is it the end of the judicial highway for State Supreme Court Judge Tom Spargo? Apparently so, with the state Judicial Commission ruling that Spargo should be removed from the bench because of various transgressions.

Spargo, if you remember, was cited for going to a Bon Jovi concert and, when a couple of out-of-town women had the nerve to stand up and dance, flashed a judicial identification badge at them, called security and started them off an a long-trip through the Albany police and court system.

Oh, wait. That wasn’t Spargo. That was Cheryl Coleman. Did she get removed for Bon Jovigate? Nah. She got to retire. The difference between Spargo and Coleman? Spargo’s a Republican and Coleman’s a Dem.

Much of what brought about Spargo’s trouble with the Commission actually stemmed from Spargo’s campaign to become judge, first a town judge in Berne and then the Supreme Court job. That’s right – the Commission to review judicial conduct reviewed how Spargo acted before he took the bench. Strange.

Sure, Spargo’s conduct after the Commission probe started, namely, seeking money from attorneys with cases before him to defend from the Commission inquiry, didn’t help his case. But the Commission inquiry, an inquiry about actions taken before becoming a judge, is what created the need for Spargo to seek the money for a defense that went well into the six-figures.

Just for those keeping score at home, the Judicial Commission is the same one who wrongly removed Hank Bauer as Troy City Court Judge for being too tough on crime.