"For decades, the lawyer Frank Seddio has been a power player in Brooklyn's Democratic Party, rising to be the "consigliere" of party boss Vito Lopez in the 2000s and taking over leadership of the party in 2012 when Lopez resigned in disgrace. Seddio only faded-somewhat-out of the spotlight when he was replaced by the current head, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, in 2020."
"In a city where Democratic nominees reliably prevail in the general election, and in a state that gives local parties a significant role in selecting its nominees for criminal, civil, and surrogate's court judges, the Brooklyn Democrats' judicial selection process "has always been opaque, intentionally obscuring who is doing favors for who," said Tony Melone, the president of the New Kings Democrats, a reform organization. Melone added, "There is enormous potential for corruption in the way that the party chooses judges.""
Frank Seddio has long dominated Brooklyn Democratic Party politics, rising to a consigliere role under Vito Lopez and assuming party leadership after Lopez's 2012 resignation. Seddio retained influence after leaving the helm in 2020, exerting considerable control over judicial nominations and helping place many judges across Brooklyn courts. New York's local-party role in judicial selection creates an opaque process with strong potential for patronage and corruption. Seddio has claimed involvement in selecting around 60 New York Supreme Court judges. Multiple recent lawsuits allege he used court connections to run legal interference for a businessman’s repeated embezzlement scheme.
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