In New York City an attorney has filed a lawsuit against Supreme Court Judge George Villegas in which she alleges the Bronx jurist borrowed $500,000 from her in order to pay "loan sharks [who] would break his legs and hurt his children if she didn't help him" as reported by William J. Gorta and Liz Sadler for the New York Post:
George Villegas, who was elected to state Supreme Court in 2007, was mired in a "vicious cycle of gambling and borrowing money" from lawyer Janet Cohen between January 1988 and December 2006, she alleges in a suit. "Defendant periodically called plaintiff to inform her that loan sharks would soon 'break my legs' and 'hurt my children' if she did not give him money," the suit says. "Defendant borrowed over $500,000 from plaintiff to pay for and subsidize his chronic gambling."
The judge denies allegations "that he's a gambling addict who is ducking leg-breaking loansharks" but his attorney "refused to say whether he owes $500,000 to the Queens woman who made the shocking claims" as reported by the Daily News. If the allegations against Villegas are true, then he could "face removal from the bench . . . a legal expert said" as reported by William J. Gorta for the New York Post:
Monroe Freedman, the former dean of Hofstra Law School and a noted expert in legal ethics, said a judge in deep with bookies should be worried. "If a judge has that serious a gambling habit, it could get him in trouble," Freedman said. "If a judge is involved with organized crime, I would be very concerned. "It may be reason to remove him from the bench."
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