Go-Go Bar Ruckus Led to Judge's Resignation, Supervisor Testifies
News that a New Jersey municipal judge had allegedly caused a ruckus in a go-go bar was the last straw that led to his resignation, his former assignment judge testified at a disciplinary hearing today.
N.J. Superior Court Judge Judge Yolanda Ciccone testified that she told Richard Sasso he had to retire, resign or be removed from the bench after learning of Sasso’s involvement in the incident at Torpedo’s in Bound Brook, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. Sasso resigned early this year, citing health issues from a 2005 accident.
Sasso, who is now 53, had allegedly refused to provide his driver’s license to run a tab at the bar in November 2007, then tried to pull rank by citing his judicial status and threatening to make problems for the manager, according to a seven-count complaint filed with the state’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct. Sasso reportedly then refused a request to leave the bar, was physically removed and called the police chief of a town in which he routinely heard cases for a ride home, the newspaper reports.
Sasso was under investigation when he resigned, based on accusations that he had been inebriated on the bench on several occasions, the article states.
“It seemed to me that he was abusing Vicodin,” Ciccone testified at the Office of Attorney Ethics in West Trenton today. The hearing began Monday.
Attorney Anthony Vignuolo, who is representing Sasso, said the police chief was a personal friend of Sasso’s and asked Ciccone why she would conclude that the Torpedo’s incident was related to his client’s conduct on the bench, the article states. Earlier, he said that Sasso was concerned about providing his driver’s license because he didn’t want to leave his personal information on the bar.
The hearing is expected to continue this afternoon. If the committee determines that the complaint against Sasso is founded, it could recommend that the New Jersey Supreme Court take disciplinary action.
