Edward King was arrested by federal authorities and charged with wire fraud conspiracy for allegedly stealing millions with Sam Sprei. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The failures began during his rapid rise from private lawyer to Civil Court and then to state Supreme Court. Multiple gatekeeping bodies did not stop the process, including judicial screening panels of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and the New York City Bar Association, along with state-level approvals involving Gov. Hochul, the state Senate, and court administration under Chief Judge Rowan Wilson and Chief Administrative Judge Joe Zayas. The appointment process bypassed voters and relied on nominations and confirmations that did not prevent the alleged misconduct. King’s earlier candidacy also raised concerns that were ignored.
"Arrested by the feds and charged by Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Joe Nocella with wire fraud conspiracy for stealing millions with his pal Sam Sprei, defrocked Brooklyn judge Edward King shows everything that is wrong with how state judgeships are filled. The system in place to prevent schnooks and crooks from becoming judges (as much as it is a system) failed at every step and it all happened after this column sent up warning flares about King at the very beginning, which were ignored."
"The voters were bypassed and all the checks - the judicial screening panels of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and the New York City Bar Association, Gov. Hochul, the state Senate and the state Office of Court Administration under Chief Judge Rowan Wilson and Chief Administrative Judge Joe Zayas - failed as King moved from private lawyer rapidly up the judicial ladder from Civil Court to state Supreme Court, where he and Sprei allegedly used a phony escrow scheme to swindle millions from duped investors."
"It started in 2022, when Brooklyn Civil Court Craig Walker was running for a new 10-year term. He had no challengers and so his name didn't appear on the June primary ballot and would run unopposed in the November election. But on Aug. 4 Walker was tapped for a spot on state Supreme Court by the Brooklyn Democratic Party. Walker then declined his Civil Court nomination and on Aug. 16 it was handed to King by the Brooklyn party boss, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and Frank Seddio."
"Now facing 20 years in federal prison, both King and the state courts would have been much better off if he had never become a judge. We took notice of King in 2022 because as a candidate for Civil Court in the November election he never filed"
#judicial-appointments #judicial-ethics #wire-fraud-conspiracy #political-screening #new-york-courts
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