A New York judge killed himself on Tuesday, a month after federal authorities searched his home, reports said.
Judge John Michalski, an acting justice on the New York Supreme Court, was found dead on Tuesday in his home, weeks after authorities raided his home while investigating his connection to Peter Gerace Jr., a local club owner, according to Michalski’s lawyer.
“It’s difficult to explain what a tragedy this is,” Terrence Connors, a lawyer and friend of Michalski, told the New York Times. “It would be difficult to find a judge who was more respected” in the western New York legal community.
Police have not released additional details about Michalski’s death.
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Michalski came under scrutiny after federal and state authorities raided his home on March 24. While Michalski was not charged with any crimes, Gerace was charged in federal court in Florida last year with sex trafficking, drug distribution, and bribery. Gerace denied the charges, and his case was transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.
Michalski did legal work for Gerace’s club when the justice was still involved in private practice, the Buffalo News reported. He also wrote a letter to a federal judge in 2006 seeking a lenient sentence for Gerace after the club owner was convicted of wire fraud, claiming to have been friends with Gerace for nearly two decades, the report added.
The judge, who was also the subject of an investigation by the state attorney general’s office related to corruption allegations, had a history of suicide attempts. A trainspotter witnessed Michalski lie down on train tracks as a slow-moving train approached in February 2021, according to News 4 WIVB. He received a severe leg injury but survived.
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Michalski was appointed to the state Court of Claims and as a state Supreme Court justice in 2006, where he served for the last 14 years.
Representatives from the Amherst Police Department did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
