Vaseline Threat by Ex-Judge Leads to Three-Month Suspension
A former New Jersey judge has been suspended from law practice for three months for an incident in which he allegedly told police officers who had arrested him on a drunken driving charge to “get the Vaseline out and bend over.”
The municipal judge, George R. Korpita of Dover, resigned shortly after his arrest in November 2007, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. He later pleaded guilty to threatening a public servant and drunk driving, the story says.
The Disciplinary Review Board had recommended only a reprimand on the ground that Korpita’s actions stemmed from his intoxication, but the New Jersey Supreme Court imposed a three-month suspension, according to the story.
Patrolman Jonathan Edmunds claimed Korpita made his threats at the police station after the arrest, according to the article. It quotes from a letter by Edmunds to the court.
Korpita said he supported law enforcement, and “when the cops beat the shit out of a guy, I do the right thing,” according to the letter. “I’ll never take care of cops again,” Korpita allegedly said. “After tonight, I’m done. … Never again, I’m going to stick it up their asses. Get the Vaseline out and bend over.”
Korpita was also in the news in 2007 for a confrontation in a restaurant parking lot. A securities dealer alleged in a lawsuit that Korpita ordered police to arrest him for leaning on Korpita’s parked Maserati and accidentally scratching it. The case was settled in January, according to the New Jersey Law Journal story.
