Last Friday, I told you Judge Leonard is now a Republican, having switched sides in early December. Today, The Express Times' Sarah Cassi explains why - it was the price he had to pay top get the Republican support he needed to be confirmed as a judge who could qualify as a senior judge when he turns seventy.
How did Sarah learn this? She asked. Zito and local Republican chair Roy Shuman frankly admit it in a very interesting story revealing that party chairs have more power than commonly thought.
41 comments:
what is the definition of pay to play: giving up something in order to get what you want from the political system. Zito gave up his political affiliation to become judge. He engaged in pay to play politics. All so he could stay on the bench after he was 70 (a stupid rule by the way) and get paid by taxpayers longer. the republicans got what they wanted (a credible candidate for the 2009 elections) and zito got what he wanted (an appointment to the bench). Horse trading is horse trading.
legal: sure. ethical, not so much.
Good for him, makes me jealous...
I understand the "pay to play" analogy but this is not about ripping off taxpayers. At most, it's about ripping off a political party. I can't help asking, so what? It's not like it matters very much. He's a judge - who cares about hios political party except for the most rabid party people. I don't think this will somehow make Lenny less of a judge and admire the honesty that he and Roy Shuman displyed.
I don't believe for a second that Lisa Boscola knew nothing about this. In fact, she probably helped engineer the deal, but has maintained deniability so good for her.
Shouldn't a judge have integrity? He sold his soul for a judgeship and a taxpayer salary.
If I am a Republican I am appalled that my party needed to resort to backroom deals to get a democrat to switch so we have a viable candidate.
Zito switched from D to R. That hardly amounts to selling his soul.
In Northampton County and Allentown, it might actually make more sense for a person of integrity to be an R. The local Dems have stood for blatant Sunshine Act violations, pay to play Allenbtown mayors, intrusive residential home inspections, picking favorites to run with the party enforsement instead of letting the people decide, partisan bickering, letters firing people that have absolutely no authority, anaonymous sleaze robocalls, motions demanding resignations of cabinet officials, an inability to get along with a Democratic county exec, ordinances that force the county to pay $1.8 MM more for an IT contract, a gigantic and unnecessary slush fund, bequests to out of county agencies, etc.
Locally, Democrats stand for nothing except the perpetuation in power of its favorites. I am increasingly finding it hard to justify remaining a Democrat. If it were not for the differences between the parties on a national level, I would have switched myself.
This makes no sense. It doesn't matter whether Zito's a D or an R. It didn't matter in October and it won't matter in November.
No one in the state Senate pays attention to the common pleas nominations as it is. I'm sure Browne and Wonderling don't have the pull to make Scarnati and Pileggi burn anymore of the governor's good will. They smoked enough of that with the appellate nomination debacle.
Zito could buy and sell Roy Shuman. The same with Long.
Neither of them have any real power.
If the local party boss can block a judicial appointment, it looks like he does have some power after all.
Are we not missing something in the ET story Wonderling says he checks with the party chairs for appointments? Shuman admits this was all about fielding a stronger ticket with no concern about quality on the court, this is absurd. Although no money has changed hands that we know of this is the height of politicizing the judiciary. Wonderling should be working for all his constituents not just Boss Shuman. As I read this in the ET I began to wonder if I had moved to Illinois!
OHare would only find a fault with this if Palowski, Long, Dertinger, McClure or McHale were involved.
Who cares what party Zito belongs to? Probably no one, that he agreed to a backroom deal like this to try to garantee his chance to be a senior judge, we should all be questioning his integrity.
And like the first responder said horse tradin is horse trading, do we want a horse trader as a judge?
Anon 1:15, I believe there is a big difference between pols who accept contributions from people who want to do business with a local govvernment and a lawyer who changes parties so he can be confirmed as judge. In the former situation, the legal bribery ends up hurting the taxpayer. In the latter case, only partisans are hurt.
Zito and Shuman have both publicly acknowledged their agreement to a newspaper reporter, so it's pretty hard to claim it is a back room deal.
If you feel that strongly, I would suggest that you work hard to ensure Zito's defeat at the polls. I'll be vboting for a man who was a good lawyer and is a good judge.
I think it's the first demonstration I can remember of Roy Shuman's ability to do anything. That an R in this very blue county can pull this off is impressive. Funny to read whiny remarks from incestuous Ds.
Kudos for Shuman I agree.
For Zito a warning I heard when I considered a party change "Your new party never trusts you and your old party never forgives".
Part of running for Judge is showing people you have integrity this manuever fails to do that.
We have Dally at the top of the ticket and 3 of the last 4 Judges were Rs, so I think Shuman is wrong we don't need Zito and I don't trust him.
How about Craig Dally? Do you trust him? He is a former Dem, too!
I don't trust Dally to be a conservative, but I trust his wife and she really calls the shots. :o
This is much ado about nothing. Zito will win election on his merits. He actually has ideas about obeying the law, and following it. No one gives a shit about whether he has a "D" or an "R" besides his name. Boscola, for all her warts, does a good job.
Dally, no warts, but does a good job, same for Wonderling, Samuelson and Freeman.
Why thank you. I would piss you off in short order. The Dems don't want me, either.
This matters because the only currency a Judge has is integrity. Litigants need to know that the guy or gal in the robe has good character. Zito made a back room deal with the Republicans behind the Democrats back. And Bernie, this isn't just the local Democrats you so often deride - these are the Democrats in the Senate of Pennsylvania. A judicial nominee needs a two-thirds vote. So, without the Democrats Lenny would not have been confirmed. It is entirely possible that Zito would have been confirmed had he been honest with the Senate Democrats, but according to Boscola's office he was not. Roy Shuman said if he switched before the appointment he never would have been appointed. The truth is Lenny compromised his integrity by making this deal. People coming in front of him will never be able to be sure that they will get a fair shake.
I agree with your factual analysis but gisagree that it demonstrates a lack of integrity. But thanks to The ET and Sarah Cassi, we know how it went down and we can make an informed choice.
"I'm not really a political animal." Lenny Zito It is like a quote from HBO's the show the wire that was always run at the begining of each program. In the 90's Lenny Zito, when he was Pat Toomey's lawyer and friend was a Republican, it wasn't until Glenn Reibman, after Lenny supported him, name him Chief Public Defender, that Lenny Zito switched his party to Democrat. Lenny Zito has always been a politcal opportunist of the worst kind. You cannot trust a man who puts his own blind ambition ahead of the public interest by making back room deals. He deceived the Governor, Senator Boscola and many local Democrats who supported his nomination. He should resign and run as a Republican. Only this way can he restore his honor.
I am used To politicans doing this type of thing.
it is not something I think a Judge should do. Dispite O'Hare's man crushes, most pol's including Angle and Stoffa wheel and deal behind closed doors.
However, I agree with the poster about a Judge having to run on integrity. Zito betrayed himself as nothing more than a cheap politican. It wouldn't matte rif he were a Repub becomong a Dem, its the deceit he showed. Play it any way you want BO, because you like him you are doing your hypocrite schuffle. He lied and played the Senate Dem's. Good for him but this is the sleazy way he gets to pull off not just his judgeship but a possible Senior Judge deal and make nice per deims for life. I wonder if his buddy Grucella gave him tips.
The fact that he and Shuman admitted it after the fact is BS. So what? If you con someone out of their money and then proudly announce what you did later, does it make you any less of a thief or a slime, of course not.
You really stretch it pretty thin when it is someone you like.
Bottom line he will probably win a judgeship but he pulled one of the slimest moves I have ever seen to do it and that will stay with him forever.
"He deceived the Governor, Senator Boscola and many local Democrats who supported his nomination."
I believe Boscola knew about this in advance but has maintained deniability for party stalwarts who take a dim view of this kind of behavior. I also notice, in the ET account, that there is no condemnation from the Dem party boss. That surprises me and leads me to believe that some Ds, at least, were alright with this. I may be wrong.
This certainly will not help Lenny, but I think he will still win easily.
If I knew nothing else about the guy, this would bother me a little more. But the truth is that Zito was a very good judge the last time he served and a good judge is worth his weight in gold. That's why he gets a pass from me.
Burne - how do you KNOW he was a good judge ? You no longer practice law. You probably rarely if ever were in a courtroom while he was presiding. I bet you didn't read more than one or two of his opinions. My guess here is that criminal defense lawyers told you he was a good judge - for criminals. Him being a criminal defense lawyer for 40 years and the Cheif Public Defender.
Double Switch. You can't make this stuff up. Word on the street, I mean in the courthouse, is that Judge Zito will win as a Republican and will switch back to the Democratic Party. Maybe that is why Boss Long has kept quiet.
I've heard that. I don't think his political party matters too much to him or to me. He's a judge, not some state senator. When a state senator like Boscola starts threeatening to switch, as she has done, there is much more reason to be concerned.
Anon 8:41,
I no longer practice law but still work in the courthouse, know many lawyers and see the judges in action. Zito is one of the hardest-working judges on the bench. He has the respect of both defense attorneys and prosecutors. Ask DA Morgenelli. Ask chief PD Mike Corriere. I have read his opinions. They are among the top three in quality.
If you don'y like the guy bc he switched parties, or is going to switch back again, go ahead and vote him out. But don't delude yourself into thinking he is a bad judge. He's one of the best.
The only way Boscola goes for this if Lenny Zito agreed to switch back. The guy has zero integrity.
Bernie there is also a rumor rolling around the courthouse that some of his opponents may file a complaint with the Judicial Conduct Board. The idea being that Zito's admitted deception in obtaining the appointment brings disrepute upon the court.
His opponents? Gee, I guess they don't have an axe to grind, do they? A complaint like that would have a lot more validity if it were brought by a judge who feels this fully disclosed or not fully disclosed agreement somehow undermines public confidence in our judiciary. Frankly, I do't think Zito's poliotical afficiliation is relevant to what he does on the bench, and unless he affirmatively misrepresented himself, I don't think anyone has cause to complain about Zito's integrity.
I think only partisans are bothered by this.
He lied to the Democrats in the Senate. Without them, he does not get confirmed. Roy Shulman was quoted in the E.T. saying that, "Rendell would not have appointed him if had switched..." He made a back room deal and misled the Governor, the Senate D's(and this is true whether Boscola knew or not) and local Democrats many of whom had supported him in his bid including the likes of Ann McHale. He owes everyone an apology for his deception. He then needs to resign and win the office as a Republican.
Zito certainly did need the Guv' and senate Dems. But there is no evidence that Zito affirmatively miseld them.
You have heard of lies of omission ? He omitted telling the Governor and the Senate D's that he was going to switch political parties. The evidence for that is that Shulman said it in the newspaper. Rendell would not have appointed him. And by the way, you are so funny when you are in the tank for somebody, they didn't admit anything until they were caught. Your own reporting indicates that he switched on 12/5. Its not like that had a press conference to announce. Cassi's story appears a month later.
Not quite directly related to the Zito, but something raised by a poster and also by the Express-Times article.
One poster describing Northampton as a "very blue county" and the article as a "Democrat-heavy county".
For a county with solid Democratic areas of Bethlehem and Easton, the county results seem to indicate less than stellar performance. The county currently has a 4-4 split on the County Council. A similar split on the Common Pleas Court. The Republican losing by 5% in the last County Executive race. And the GOP having had a 6-3 majority on the council as recently as 2004.
Other factors certainly indicate a Democratic leaning, but describing it as "heavy" or "solid" Democratic seems to be pushing it.
"And by the way, you are so funny when you are in the tank for somebody,"
Actually, Zito's party switch was reported here as soon as I learned it heppened. If I were "in the tank" for Zito, I would have ignored it.
Good luck with that lie of omission argument. That should go real far.
Anon 4:25,
Fascinatin point. I don't quite know what to make of it, but you're absolutely right.
Zito is a liar, period. Should not be a Judge. Period.
Lenny Zito has no honor. If he had any, he would resign and run proudly on the Republican ticket. But he won't, and he will win. I take comfort in the fact that in the end his kids will inherit about a half-million bucks less than they would have had he not pulled this silly back room trick.
You take consolation in the fact his kids will suffer financially. How nice!
He is a mutlti-millionaire, although, probably a little less so like everyone else. His kids will be just fine. That's why it is so curious that he was so desperate to be eligible for the state pension. Why would a guy with so much money, work so hard to be eligible for a pension. Makes no sense to me - unless he is just greedy.
It helps ensure his election. That in turn with the time he got through his deception will give him senior judge status when he retires.
Great gig if you can get it. Lets give him a pass, O'Hare likes him just like Morganelli.
The local D's are not upset because the guy has no party. He has agreed with Boscola and Long that after he is elected he will switch back to the Democratic Party. So, the last real deception will be perpetrated on Boss Shulman and the local R's - which is very funny.
I hear Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts are looking for someone to write "Conspiracy Theory II"
You should apply.
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