A judge charged with misconduct took the rare step today of testifying publicly in his own defense.
Bronx Surrogate Lee Holzman, who is accused of allowing a lawyer pal loot the estates of people who died with no wills, said he was “shocked” to learn in 2006 that there may have been misdeeds on his watch.
The veteran judge, the Bronx surrogate since 1988, became only the 11th judge to testify in more than 700 disciplinary cases brought since 1978 by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Holzman said he was clueless that lawyer Michael Lippman – also his chief campaign fundraiser – had been repeatedly granted advance legal fees by Esther Rodriguez, a former public administrator in Bronx Surrogate’s Court. Holzman probates will and oversees estates at the court.
“I was shocked when I learned that apparently Mrs. Rodriguez, at the request of Mr. Lippman, had deviated from that protocol,” Holzman said, saying the pair, who are both facing criminal charges, deviated from guidelines on payment standards.
Bronx prosecutors in 2010 charged Lippman with billing more than $300,000 in excess legal fees.
Holzman could be removed from the bench or censured by the commission, which is is having the case heard in Manhattan by a retired state judge.
The former law school adjunct professor apologized for sounding “professorial” during his turn on the stand, and said he had limited contact with Lippman, who he’s known since 1974.
“I might have gone to a Yankee game or two with him, I’m not sure,” Holzman said.