Sylvia Ash Resigns as Brooklyn Judge After Conviction in MCU Case

Sylvia Ash, the former Brooklyn Supreme Court judge convicted of obstructing a federal investigation into a Manhattan-based credit union, has officially resigned from the bench ahead of her planned sentencing later this month, a state disciplinary body announced on Monday.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct said that Ash formally resigned her post March 15, after a federal jury found her guilty on one count each of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

Her sentencing is currently scheduled for April 20 before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the Southern District of New York.

In a statement, SCJC Commissioner Robert Tembeckjian said that Ash’s case was the “cautionary tale of a talented and accomplished individual who is paying a steep price for failing to live up to the high standards demanded of those who ascend to the bench.”

“Judge Ash’s cooperation now with the Commission, in agreeing to leave office, is realistic and appropriate,” he said.

According to the SCJC, an investigation into Ash’s misconduct was held in abeyance pending the outcome of her criminal case. In the end, the commission said, the Ash agreed by stipulation never again to seek or hold judicial office.

Her attorney, Morrison & Foerster partner Carrie Cohen, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ash, who had sat on the State Supreme Court since 2011, previously served as a judge of the New York City Civil Court from 2006 to 2010. Her 14-year judicial term had been set to expire at the end of 2024.

A spokesman for the New York’s Unified Court System declined to comment on Monday.

During a two-week trial, prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Ash, had helped to cover up a scheme by Kam Wong, the former CEO of Municipal Credit Union (MCU), to steal nearly $10 million from the 500,000-member New York City financial institution.

Ash, who served on the MCU board at the time, was accused of deleting incriminating messages at Wong’s behest and later lying to investigators probing the former executive’s conduct. Prosecutors also said that Ash had failed to report gifts and outside income, and resisted the ethics commissions’ calls for her to resign from MCU’s board.

Wong, meanwhile, has pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges and is currently serving a five-year sentence in federal prison. Joseph Guagliardo, a former New York City Police officer who served on MCU’s supervisory committee, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, and is serving a 27-month prison sentence.

The men were ordered to forfeit a combined $10.3 million and to pay restitution to MCU.