Judicial race in Jefferson: Why is this getting so vicious?

JEFFERSON CO.—We don’t ordinarily cover news in Jefferson County, which is the westernmost of our judicial circuit, the Second. However, recent calls to our google tip line, as well as emails to our website, prompted us to take a look at things a little more closely…and what we’re seeing is kind of appalling.

The complaints began coming in yesterday morning (Friday, 11.02.12), via email here at the website, then a couple of google calls. Upon the second call, we tried to call the number back…but lo and behold, it went to a bank in Mt. Vernon, and of course Cummins didn’t leave a viable number for us to call back (probably not REALLY wanting to talk to us), so we couldn’t get through because the second call came in AFTER the bank was closed (which prompted us to believe Cummins REALLY didn’t want to talk to us; it would appear he just wanted to bitch).

So this morning we addressed the email (which read, simply, Could someone from your publication contact me. It seems I have been mentioned in an article and would like to discuss this with the publisher), telling him that the name “Cummins” had been mentioned in a LETTER in this issue, not an article, and that it wasn’t a good idea, if one couldn’t tell the difference between a letter and an article, to be calling a newspaper on a line that states very clearly you’re going to be recorded, and then that the recording can and may be used for news purposes.

Here’s the basic information: there’s apparently a fierce judicial race on in JeffCo. So fierce that people are bringing up anything and everything about the incumbent—Nicole Villani, a Republican—who, to some who might not know it, has had a rather spotty past when it comes to finances. Judge Villani was appointed here awhile back upon the retirement of Terry Gamber, a nice fella in Mt. Vernon, had a baby while in office, and was generally considered by turns either a nice gal or something of a suckup. Her husband Henry Villani is also an attorney. In 2003, they filed for bankruptcy. They both attempted to claim as write-off in Chapter 13 their student loans that made them the lawyers that they are—money that you and I put forth in the form of taxes, as that’s where federal student loans come from. As attorneys, you’d think they’d know they can’t bankrupt out of student loans, but they tried. All you have to do is look below (we know it’s a long, long list of debts they wanted discharged, but work your way down it) to see what all they asked forgiveness for.

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Now. Here’s the aggravating part. Besides the fact that the Villanis wanted that much in debt discharged, we also can’t access any of these documents on PACER (the public access website for the federal and bankruptcy court systems, which you have to have a subscription for) except what you see above. And I think THIS document is probably just one that was overlooked. Because it looks like the entire file, dating from 2003-2008, has been scrubbed. Here’s how the screens look from start to finish, adjusted for size so you can see the print.

Opening screen, where subscribers, as we are, can select cases. The Villani case is on here twice, which sometimes happens in the federal court system, but it’s the identical case.

On this screen you see the basic case details. You here click “history/documents” and you get the next screen.

From here, you can ordinarily select one of the numbers on the left that has an underline (indicating a link,) and you can access the court document. However, when you click ANY of the links, you get the following screen….

This comes up on every single link except the one from the second screenshot that reads “claims register.” That’s what I clicked to get the detailed information. A couple of weeks ago, when we researched the letter for verification, there were a few documents available; now there’s only one. And it might be gone before the election Tuesday.

Ordinarily, a subscriber can research every single bankruptcy, read every filing, and learn details about the case. But not Nicole Villani’s. Why? Because she’s a judge? We don’t know. But come Monday, we intend to find out.

Oh, and the caller?

We still have no idea who’s behind that, or why he’d take offense to a mention in a letter. All it says is that he helped Nicole finance a house through his bank. So? We told him if it was wrong, he was welcome to write us a letter and set the record straight; the letter-writer might have been mistaken. (At this point in time, we might even request he provide documentation; that remains to be seen.) But apparently, Jo David Cummins didn’t actually read the letter, he’s just ‘hearing’ about it, and is having ass-in-the-air-itis. Meaning, to us, that the high-and-mighty over there can apparently call the local media, bitch about something, and it doesn’t get reported, subsequently. Which is one of the many multitude of reasons we don’t generally cover news in JeffCo…because the corruption is so impossibly over-the-top, we’d have to have a daily and a staff of a dozen just to get it adequately covered, and right now, that’s just not gonna happen.

Jo Beth Weber. She comes highly recommended.

So what can you, the reader, do if you’re in Jefferson County? Our suggestion: Don’t vote yourself another headache; we already have too many of those in the Second Circuit. There is a contender, Jo Beth Weber, who might make a fine judge. We haven’t found any bankruptcies or anything else untoward about Jo Beth. And if you don’t like her, dump her in six years. But we’d suggest veering away from Villani. That’s just entirely too much baggage, and while she may have been a good-ol-boys appointee for Gamber, that’s not the PEOPLES’ choice. So make your voices heard, JeffCo. Because the rest of us in the Second Circuit have to put up with whomever you choose, too…so we’re hoping you choose wisely.