Chautauqua County Family Court Judge candidates Sally Jaroszynski (D-Falconer) and Michael Sullivan (R-Fredonia)

JAMESTOWN – Two regional attorneys are pointing the finger at a Jamestown attorney for allegedly influencing the rating of a Chautauqua County Family Court judge candidate by the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission.

Frewburg Attorney Sherry Bjork and Buffalo attorney Margaret Murphey recently contacted the Jamestown Post-Journal with evidence she claimed proves Jamestown attorney Ken Lasker tainted Sally Jaroszynski’s campaign and worked to influence the commission’s not-qualified rating.

Jaroszynski is a Democrat from Falconer who is running against Fredonia Attorney Michael Sullivan for the Family Court Judge seat.

Murphey – who is speaking on behalf of Jaroszynski – and Bjork reportedly provided the Post-Journal with evidence that shows Lasker was working to keep Jaroszynski from winning the race. However, Lasker’s response is that he recused himself from the committee that handed out the ratings, and as a result he played no role in what the final ratings were.

Jaroszynski received a not-qualified rating from the commission while Sullivan recived a highly qualified rating. Just two years earlier both candidates received highly qualified ratings from the commission.

Jaroszynski currently serves as justice for the Ellicott Town Court. She also served as one of the two Ellicott Town Justices between 2011 and 2015, when former court clerk Jennifer Piazza was found to have taken more than $34,000 in cash.

An audit from the office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, released in 2015, stated that both town justices “did not segregate the duties of the full-time Court clerk, who controlled all phases of the Court’s cash collection, recording and reporting process with minimal oversight. As a result, the full-time Court clerk was able to manipulate Court records and admitted to embezzling funds. Neither the Justices nor the Court clerks performed monthly accountabilities, and the Board did not consistently conduct, or retain anyone to conduct, the required annual audit of the Justices’ records.”

The current race for Family Court Judge comes after Judith Claire retired from the bench in June.

In 2014 Jaroszynski unsuccessfully ran for the newly created second family court judge seat, losing to judge Jeffrey Piazza in the 2014 November election. Sullivan also lost to Piazza that same year in the Republican primary.

Sally Jaroszynski

MAYVILLE – The Democratic Nominee for Chautauqua County Family Court Judge has received an unfavorable rating for a local judicial commission – despite the fact that she received a favorable rating just two years earlier.

The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting today that the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission has given Family Court Judge candidate Sally Jaroszynski an unqualified rating.  In 2014, when Jaroszynski ran for a newly created family court seat, she received a qualified rating.

The ratings from the commission are only given upon request from a candidate. When given a rating, the commission has the option of rating a candidate as highly qualified, qualified or not qualified.

FAILED TO DETECT EMBEZZLEMENT BY FORMER COURT CLERK

Jaroszynski is a local attorney who’s practiced law in family court for 25 years and also currently serves as justice for the Ellicott Town Court. She also served as one of the two Ellicott Town Justices between 2011 and 2015, when former court clerk Jennifer Piazza was found to have taken more than $34,000 in cash.

An audit from the office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, released in 2015, stated that both town justices “did not segregate the duties of the full-time Court clerk, who controlled all phases of the Court’s cash collection, recording and reporting process with minimal oversight. As a result, the full-time Court clerk was able to manipulate Court records and admitted to embezzling funds. Neither the Justices nor the Court clerks performed monthly accountabilities, and the Board did not consistently conduct, or retain anyone to conduct, the required annual audit of the Justices’ records.”

It’s not known if the audit from the state comptroller’s office played a role in the commission’s unqualified rating.

Jaroszynki is running against Fredonia area attorney Michael Sullivan and Sherry Bjork – who will square off in a Republican party primary next week.

The current race for Family Court Judge comes after Judith Claire retired from the bench in June.

In 2014 Jaroszynski unsuccessfully ran for the newly created second family court judge seat, losing to judge Jeffrey Piazza in the 2014 November election.

The Post-Journal is reporting that the court has granted 40 year-old Jennifer Piazza an evaluation for a drug treatment program out of Jamestown City Court.

Piazza is being defended by public defender Ned Barone, who said Piazza is a non-violent, first-time offender who has a history of drug use and needs help.

Piazza was fired from her position in 2015 after being accused of pocketing $34,443 over the course of four years from the Ellicott Town Court while serving as its clerk. The theft was first noticed following an audit by the State Comptroller’s office. She also served as part-time clerk for the Gerry town court, where she is also accused of taking about $8,000.

Piazza is currently facing two indictments out of the towns of Ellicott and Gerry, each charging her with third-degree grand larceny – two class D felonies.

According to the Post-journal, if Piazza is eligible for the treatment program, she must plead guilty to the charges on both indictments. If she successfully completes the program, she can withdraw her pleas and plead guilty to two misdemeanors instead. She would also be required to pay restitution and would be placed on probation for six year.

According to the office of Tom DiNapoli, the comptroller’s audit found that the court finances were short by more than $34,000 during the time period between 2011 and 2015. The report also said the shortage occurred because the town justices did not establish appropriate internal controls over the Court’s financial processes, and neither the Justices nor the Town Board provided proper oversight.

As a result, the audit found that the town’s former court clerk, Jennifer Piazza, was in a position to allegedly embezzle $34,443 in court funds. Piazza was in control of all phases of the court’s cash collection, recording and reporting process. She was fired from her position earlier this year once the initial findings by the Comptroller’s office were passed to the Ellicott Town officials.

In August, Piazza was indicted by a Chautauqua County Grand Jury and pleaded not guilty the following month to third-degree grand larceny. According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, Jury selection for her trial begins Feb. 9.

The Post-Journal says 40 year-old Jennifer Piazza has pleaded not guilty to third degree grand larceny after an investigation by the state comptrollers office found that she allegedly took the money between January 2011 and October 2014 while working as the town’s court clerk. She was indicted by a Chautauqua County Grand Jury earlier this year and has since been removed the post.

Piazza will next appear in court on Oct. 19 for a pre-trial conference.