Brooklyn Judge Convicted of Bribery in Divorce Cases
A former State Supreme Court justice was convicted today of accepting bribes to manipulate the outcome of divorce proceedings in a case that led to a broad political and judicial corruption inquiry in Brooklyn. The judge, Gerald P. Garson, 74, could face as many as 15 years in prison if he is sentenced consecutively on the bribery verdict and two lesser charges of which he was also found guilty. A jury in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn acquitted him of four lesser counts after a four-week trial.In his roughly five years on the bench in Brooklyn, Mr. Garson handled nearly 1,100 matrimony cases, making decisions on child custody and financial matters. In finding him guilty, the jury endorsed the prosecution theory that he had an agreement with a divorce lawyer to take cash, dinners and cigars in exchange for courtroom assignments and favored treatment.
Details here from the New York Times.