A federal judge has declined to dismiss an indictment against a former New York Supreme Court justice for allegedly trying to extort $10,000 from a lawyer practicing before him to help pay for the ex-judge’s defense against misconduct charges brought by the Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Ruling from the bench at a pretrial hearing last week, Northern District of New York Judge Gary L. Sharpe found the indictment against Thomas J. Spargo was sufficient and set Aug. 24 as the tentative start date for Spargo’s trial.
