An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer outlines the several ethical quandaries of Thomas Nocella, who was elected to the Common Pleas Court Judgeship this past election.
The article says that Nocella credits his connections with Philadelphia Democratic Party boss U.S. Rep Bob Brady, and Brady’s influence with the ward leaders, for getting him elected. “[Nocella] pointed out that he had done years of free legal work for the party and said the judgeship was his reward,” the article notes, quoting him as saying “That’s the way it’s done in Pennsylvania.”
Nocella was sanctioned and fined by the city Ethics Commission in 2009 for his involvement in a political action committee that donated to the mayoral campaign of Brady and to Carol Ann Campbell’s City Council campaign without required disclosure statements. When the Ethics Commission tried to collect fines, they found that Nocella and another fund official, Ernesto DeNofa, had drained money from the PAC to pay Brady’s campaign bills. In addition, Nocella took $2,500 for himself, for what had previously been declared pro bono work.
Nocella has also been snarled in a lawsuit accusing him of fraud and deceit. In 2005, he helped sell off property owned by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Nocella pocketed $60,000 of the $507,500 transaction, stating that he was the secretary of VFW Straughter-Carter Post 6627, even though he is not a member of the VFW nor was ever authorized to act as secretary. He called the money an “accommodation,” asserting that he was vital to the deal’s success.
When prompted about his “Recommended” rating from the Philadelphia Bar Association, Nocella said that during his interview with the Bar, no one asked him about the VFW case, or about his brush with the Ethics Commission.
And now Nocella is a judge. “It sends a message that judges are above the law, and I think that’s a very troubling message for people to hear,” Lynn Marks, Executive Director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, is quoted as saying. “I am troubled by the message it sends, and I would think other judges would be troubled.”
Political party maneuvering, “the way it’s done in Pennsylvania”, makes it very difficult for the public to be confident that judges are reaching the bench because they are the most qualified to interpret the law and serve the people. Pennsylvania deserves judges who embody the best qualities and traditions of our legal system, and who are seated because of those merits – not because of who they know.