Gardner Attorney Indicted

by David Flint

The lawyer who has been representing former Stephentown Highway Superintendent Neil Gardner has been indicted on charges of attempted extortion and bribery. A federal grand jury in the Northern District of New York on Wednesday returned the indictment against Thomas J. Spargo, 65, for misconduct as a State Supreme Court Justice in the Third Judicial District. 

According to the indictment, in November and December of 2003, Justice Spargo allegedly solicited $10,000 from an Ulster County attorney who had cases pending before him. The indictment further charges that Spargo solicited the money by causing the attorney to fear that Spargo would use his official acts and influence to harm the attorney if he was not paid and, conversely, to help the attorney if he was paid. 

At the time Spargo was fighting a legal battle with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to have him removed from the State Supreme Court and his legal bills were piling up. When his dealings with the Ulster County attorney became known, this was added to the judicial panel’s list of offenses and ultimately led to Spargo’s removal from the bench in May of 2006. 

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys from the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division. The case was investigated by the Albany Division of the FBI.

The indictment of Spargo came a day before Gardner was to be sentenced for the 24 counts of possession and filing of false documents of which he was convicted in October. That sentencing date has now been adjourned to Tuesday, December 23. It is not known whether the adjournment is related to Spargo’s indictment.