Delmar House Allegedly Reduced Fine For Defendant In Exchange for Sexual Favors While Serving As Justice For Village Of West Carthage
Schneiderman: Court Officials Who Exploit Position Will be Held Accountable
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the indictment of Delmar House, the former Village Justice for the Village of West Carthage Court in Jefferson County, charging him with one felony count of Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree and one felony count of Receiving a Reward for Official Misconduct in the Second Degree.
House was the Village Justice for the Village of West Carthage Court from Jan. 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2015. He is charged with using his position as a judge during that time period to reduce a fine for a defendant who appeared before him, in exchange for sexual favors from that defendant.
“Any court official who exploits their position to elicit sexual favors shows blatant disregard for the wellbeing of their victim, the trust of the public, and for the judicial system as a whole,” said Schneiderman. “We will keep working to root out public corruption and hold those responsible accountable.”
According to filed documents and statements made in court today, in or about April 2015, House, 49, of Carthage, agreed to and did reduce the fine for a defendant appearing before him in the Village of West Carthage Court for Vehicle and Traffic Law offenses, in exchange for sexual favors from that defendant. In addition, according to documents filed in court and statements made in court today, House paid a portion of that defendant’s fines in exchange for additional sexual favors. The defendant faces up to seven years in state prison if convicted. He was arraigned today before the Honorable Kim H. Martusewicz in Jefferson County Court. The defendant pled not guilty and was released on pre-trial release and will be back in court Jan. 17, 2017, for a court conference.
The charges against the defendant are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Attorney General thanks the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, New York State Police Investigator Joseph Maurer and the New York State Police for their work on this matter.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Mary Gorman of the Public Integrity Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Daniel Cort and Deputy Bureau Chief Stacy Aronowitz, with the assistance of Senior Analyst Joseph Conniff. The investigation is being handled by Investigator David Buske of the Investigations Bureau, with assistance from Investigators Joel Cordone and Samuel Scotellaro and support from Supervising Investigator Richard Doyle, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Antoine Karam and Chief Dominick Zarrella.