Dems once again prove why they are the party of corruption in New York State. A woman was appointed to the bench for a ten year term. Now, we all know that political patronage jobs abound in the government and there is little we can do about it, but in the case of Elizabeth Shollenberger, a lawyer and Democrat activist, the appointment is so far over the line that you cannot even see the line anymore. Her only qualification is her friendship with the democratic mayor.
Beside the point that she is not qualified, her health will probably prevent her from finishing a year or two of that term, if at all. She showed up for her interview with the city’s officials who handle judicial appointments with an oxygen tank and mask. They denied her appointment but she was put on the bench anyway. Court personnel have complained about having to replace her chairs after they see poop running down her leg.
“No reasonable person could have looked at her as I did and thought that she could finish her 10-year term,” he said.
The judge apparently suffers from a severe gastric disorder that makes it difficult for her to carry on with court proceedings without being a distraction.
“She would come in and we would see the diarrhea running down her leg and to the floor,” one court worker told The Post. “She would soil the chair and then ask for a new one.”
The committee rejected Shollenberger for the job, according to the Post. But she landed it anyway, along with its $175,500-a-year salary and $65,000 of health benefits per year.
The judge told the Post in a phone interview from her hospital room that she wanted to work and had no intention of retiring. While she did not discuss her health issues with the newspaper, her husband said that his wife also suffered from pulmonary hypertension.
A high-level court source told the Post that after following up on staff complaints about Shollenberger’s incontinence, the state Office of Court Administration determined she was “unable to perform her job.”
On May 2, Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks signed an order that transferred all of the judge’s cases to other courts and prevented her from being assigned any new cases without permission.
Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucian Chalfen told the Post the matter was under review. As it should be.
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