GREENVILLE – Town Justice Alois Kraker, a non-attorney judge for the Town of Greenville, has been censured by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct. The decision was based on three separate complaints against the judge. The commission announced the September decision this week.
Judge Kraker, the owner of Lou’s Automotive, LLC, was accused of handling two cases that he should have recused himself from. In the first civil case, Krkaer failed to disclose that the plaintiff in the case was a customer of his auto business and he also “made rude and undignified comments to the defendant,” giving the appearance of bias against the defendant.
In another civil case, Judge Kraker did not disclose that he had a business relationship with the owner of the business named as a defendant. The defendant, Greenville Saw Service Inc., is owned by a member of the Greenville Town Board, responsible for the court’s annual budget. In addition, the judge uses the councilman’s business to maintain his equipment and the board member uses the judge’s auto repair business.
The third complaint was from the New York State Comptroller’s Office which indicated that Judge Kraker failed to file reports of court monies received for a period of time. The Comptroller requested that the town supervisor withhold the judge’s salary until the reports were submitted. The court eventually filed the reports and the judge’s salary was reinstated.
Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian said “For the public to have confidence in the courts, judges must always be and appear impartial. That means stepping aside from cases where they have a business relationship with a litigant, avoiding unauthorized conversations with only one party to a case, and treating all participants with patience, dignity, and courtesy. They must also account in a timely manner for court funds received.”
Judge Kraker participated in remedial training as part of the settlement agreement and as such, Tembeckjian said “Judge Kraker’s acceptance of responsibility and remedial efforts warranted a second chance.”
