The role of a Philadelphia judge in a cheese shop belonging to his wife prompted a panel to allege that he violated the rules of state ethics.
Le Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board Tuesday filed a complaint against the joint judge Scott Diclaudio on Shay's Steaks, a high -end cheese restaurant that opened more than a year ago to a few houses of the Town Hall.
“This complaint is such a farce,” said Diclaudio, who acts like his own lawyer during a telephone interview on Tuesday evening. “People do not come to Shay's because a judge can make his cheese.”
“I have a support role, which I am allowed to have,” he said. In an interview with Podcast cited by the Board of Directors, Diclaudio discussed decisions concerning prices, ingredients, salary levels for competing employees and restaurants.
“I don't mind invoice $ 19, because I give you a better quality steak,” said Diclaudio on the podcast.
Recently, he said, health problems and requests to have a young child limited his time in the business. As judge of the Criminal Tribunal, his objective is today on the actions of the court filed by the defendants after being sentenced.
The board of directors of the judicial conduct survey and pursues the possible cases of misconduct of the judge in Pennsylvania. The case will be heard by the Court of Judicial Discipline.
The council complaint notes that the media coverage of the restaurant in Philadelphia, where cheese is the subject of perpetual public interest, noted that he was a judge. A history References it as “Honor -Honor” – a reference to the use of Cheez on certain cheeses.
If anything, said Diclaudio, his role in the restaurant could be to improve the image of judges in the minds of his Philadelphian colleagues, giving them “confidence in the judiciary – that we are not all robots”.
Shay's Steaks bears the name of his late mother and the lunch that his parents ran for more than two decades in South Philly.
The complaint refers to several news on the restaurant which describe it as a judge.
“I didn't know what they were going to write,” said Diclaudio. “I had no word to say in the publishing process before seeing it myself.”
He noted that a panel at the restaurant declares Jackee Diclaudio is the owner – the couple lives in the same building as the restaurant. He said that Shay's steaks have never used him in judicial dresses or described him as a judge in advertising equipment. He says he has never been paid for his work there and that the profits go to his wife.
Diclaudio is accused of not having obtained a requirement that judges always act in a way that promotes public confidence in independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. Another allegation is that he violated a rule according to which the judges “do not abuse the prestige of the judicial post to advance the personal or economic interests of the judge or others, or to allow others to do so.”
County judges such as Diclaudio may not have other jobs that in any way interfere their legal duties and responsibilities, said Sam Stretton, an eminent lawyer for judicial ethics. He represented Diclaudio in the past, and can again in the current affair.
“He is very proud of his wife and what she does there,” said Stretton. “Of course, he gives comments, but I do not see this as prohibited. The problem with which he must face is: is there a self-promotion here?”
Complicating the case is that DICLAUDIO is currently in probation Under a decision of the Court of Judicial Discipline which involved tax privileges and an unpaid bill. It was found that he had not recognized the debt on his financial disclosure forms and did not obey the judicial orders, leading to quotes of repeated contempt against him, said the court.
He was suspended without salary for two weeks, therefore to qualify for a pension and health care of retirees, he needs to serve two additional weeks after the expiration of his mandate in January 2026. A Democrat, he asked for the conservation of another 10 -year term. If he wins the detention, he says he plans to retire at the beginning of next year.
