A conviction isn’t always disqualifying

Bronx: To Voicer Celestino P. Monclova: I don’t know anything about the circumstances that led to the criminal conviction of Norman Seabrook, but I do know that during his tenure as president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association he was one of the most productive and effective labor leaders in the state.

I also know that the system is corrupt. I experienced it firsthand when I was president of the New York State Supreme Court Officers Association 28 years ago. I discovered that the powerful state Assembly speaker was orchestrating a takeover of the state courts by implanting his unfit childhood friend as the state’s chief judge. I became the target of a well-coordinated smear campaign when I refused to cut a backroom jury reform deal that would have enabled the scheme at the expense of my members. Some of my closest supporters were going to have their careers and pensions threatened to coerce them into cooperating with this unscrupulous effort. When I retired, they attempted to block my pension. In 2009, Wayne Barrett wrote an excellent column in The Village Voice detailing the speaker’s shady plan, which was successful. Before he was indicted and arrested in 2015 (and ultimately convicted and incarcerated) the speaker attempted to enact a constitutional amendment to keep his puppet in office for an additional 10 years.

The notion that Seabrook was targeted and set up because he challenged the political power structure is not implausible. Perhaps he was a little too effective.

Edinburgh, Scotland: In a desperate attempt at escapism and without the headspace for a good........

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