Courts

Judge Arrested After He Allegedly Gets All Grope-y With Client

Yeah, and he's also been suspended from his job as a judge.

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North Bergen, NJ Municipal Court Judge Nino Falcone was arrested yesterday on charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact. The judge was released on his own recognizance, and suspended without pay indefinitely from his role as judge.

According to reports, the alleged incident took place at Falcone’s private law offices with a woman that works as an office manager for one of Falcone’s clients. The alleged victim also uses Falcone as her lawyer on personal matters. She was at Falcone’s office to discuss these matters when the alleged incident occurred:

[The alleged victim] tried to leave before he pulled her in for a hug and rubbed her back, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

She pushed Falcone away but he grabbed her breast and told her to let him “play” with her and to let him touch her, according to court documents.

Falcone then took out his wallet and offered to give her birthday money, the affidavit said.

The woman told co-workers about the incident, and she was reportedly “crying” and “shaking” as she described what happened. According to court documents, the alleged victim was hesitant to involve the police because of Falcone’s judicial role. According to police, Falcone told them he acted “inappropriately” and that he’d apologized to the woman.

A spokesperson for North Bergen made the following statement:

“We will follow the directives of the New Jersey Judiciary, which has jurisdiction over municipal court judges, and we will refrain from commenting further while this case advances through the legal process,” North Bergen spokesman Phil Swibinski said, noting that “Judge Falcone has provided many years of dedicated and unblemished public service.”

Falcone is expected in court for a hearing on the charges October 3rd.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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