A New York judge has been removed from the bench for brandishing a loaded gun at a litigant and then describing the incident in an exaggerated and racial manner.
The New York Court of Appeals, the state’s top court, approved the removal of Robert J. Putorti, a town and village justice in Whitehall, New York, in an Oct. 19 opinion.
Putorti is not a lawyer, according to prior coverage.
The litigant, who is Black, posed no threat to anyone, according to the opinion. He was 6 feet tall and weighed 165 pounds. Putorti had said after the incident the litigant approached the bench too quickly, causing him to brandish the gun that he kept attached to the underside of his bench using a magnet.
***
lennyesq 