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Time - Man of the Year
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1993-04-08
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THE WEEK, Page 20SOCIETYThere Goes The Judge
The distinguished career of New York State's chief jurist ends
in disgrace
With his photo-op jaw, lustrous crest of hair and baritone
voice, Sol Wachtler could have played a judge on television if
he had not actually been one. As chief judge of the New York
Court of Appeals, Wachtler headed one of the nation's most
influential state courts. State Republican leaders wanted him
to challenge Mario Cuomo if the New York Governor chose to run
again in 1994. But nobody is talking much about Wachtler's
political future any longer. It's hard to envision the campaign
trail of a man under house arrest.
On Nov. 7, a seven-week FBI investigation ended with
Wachtler, 62, under arrest for blackmail and attempted
extortion. He is accused of bombarding his ex-mistress Joy
Silverman, 45, a wealthy Republican fund raiser, with a lengthy
series of anonymous letters and phone calls that included a
demand for $20,000 and a threat to kidnap her 14-year-old
daughter. Wachtler, who has now resigned his judgeship, remains
confined by court order to the Long Island condo he shares with
his wife of 40 years, Joan.
In the 1980s Silverman and her husband Jeffrey, a New York
City industrialist, became major donors to Republican
candidates. A grateful George Bush nominated her in 1989 to
become ambassador to Barbados but withdrew her name after the
Senate, amid complaints about G.O.P. contributors buying
ambassadorships, balked at approving a woman with no college
degree. Wachtler became friendly with Silverman in 1984, when
he helped to handle her stepfather's disputed will. After a
lengthy affair with the judge that ended about a year ago,
Silverman began a relationship with David Samson, a New Jersey
lawyer. In April the anonymous letters started. One claimed that
the writer had embarrassing tapes and pictures of her with
Samson and demanded $20,000. A lewd greeting card, sent directly
to her daughter, was accompanied by a condom.
Silverman went straight to FBI Director William Sessions.
As a sizable contributor to Republican campaigns, she may have
assumed that she could air her troubles at the highest levels.
She also reportedly had no idea that the threats came from her
old lover. The bureau eventually put 80 agents on the case and
traced calls to Wachtler's car phone.
Wachtler's lawyer is hoping to work out a plea that will
keep his client out of jail. Looking back on his career,
Wachtler once observed that it took about three years for a
politician to become a real jurist. "Only then," he said, "do
you stop thinking every Election Day about what might have
been." It's a thought that will probably haunt him again.