A town justice in Schuyler County has resigned while under investigation for attending the January 6, 2021, rally in Washington, D.C., and other alleged misconduct, according to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Donald R. Spaccio, who served as a justice for both the Montour Falls Village Court and the Montour Town Court, will step down officially next week. In a stipulation accepted by the commission, Spaccio agreed never to seek or accept judicial office in the future.
The commission began investigating Spaccio in April 2024 after receiving complaints that he had impermissibly attended the political rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol. While Spaccio testified that he did not participate in the assault, judicial conduct rules prohibit judges from engaging in certain political activities.
In addition to his attendance at the rally, Spaccio was accused of shouting at police officers and invoking his judicial position when they asked him to remove a propane cannon from the roof of his building. He was also alleged to have yelled profanities at the Montour Code Enforcement Officer during a dispute.
“Judges may not engage in political activity except for a limited time when running for office, and even then there are constraints on what they may do,” said Robert H. Tembeckjian, the commission’s administrator, in a statement. “Whether or not a judge was a candidate, attending the rally in Washington on January 6, 2021, was impermissible. So is invoking one’s judicial title in the midst of a testy personal dispute.”
Spaccio, who is not an attorney, had been a justice of the Montour Falls Village Court since 2001 and of the Montour Town Court since 2005. His current terms were set to expire on March 31, 2026, and December 31, 2025, respectively.
By agreeing to the stipulation, Spaccio waived the confidentiality provisions of the commission’s proceedings to the extent that the stipulation and the commission’s order accepting it are made public. The commission accepted the agreement on September 19, 2024.
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has accepted 140 such permanent resignation stipulations since the procedure was established in 2003. The commission investigates complaints of judicial misconduct and can issue determinations ranging from admonition to removal from office.
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