Judge recuses over friendship with ex-police commissioner

A judge yesterday recused himself from the criminal trial of three retired Nassau County police officers in order to avoid an "appearance of impropriety" due to his friendship with the ex-police commissioner. Nassau County Court Judge John Kase (See Profile), the court's supervising judge, said he would not preside over the trial of the three men who were indicted for allegedly conspiring to prevent the arrest of the son of a donor to the police department.
Reading a statement from the bench during a court appearance in People v. Flanagan, 338N/12, Kase noted he has been a friend of former Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey for the past five years and has been "in his company at professional as well as social events." Mulvey was the police commissioner at the time of the officers' alleged crime.
Noting that "transparency and trust" in the legal process is "of paramount importance," Kase said, "The mere appearance of impropriety is as strong a reason for recusal as impropriety itself. Therefore, I believe that my presiding over this case could create an appearance of impropriety."
The case has been reassigned to Nassau County Court Judge George Peck (See Profile). The three officers are William Flanagan, former second deputy commissioner, whose charges include receiving a reward for official misconduct. Charges against John Hunter, former deputy chief inspector, include two counts of sixth-degree official misconduct and conspiracy. Alan Sharpe, a former detective sergeant, faces counts including offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree.