District judge accused of favoritism

A Beaver County district judge favored family friends and people tied to his business associates, throwing out charges against them and pressing police to back off cases, the state Judicial Conduct Board said Wednesday.

The board filed three counts of judicial misconduct against Center Township District Judge Joseph Zupsic, 59, over a string of cases from 1999 to 2002.

According to the board's 12-page complaint:

Zupsic dismissed charges against a Beaver County Jail guard accused of assaulting an inmate. The guard's father was a business associate of Zupsic's.

The judge also dismissed a drunken-driving charge against a minor whom he called "a friend of the family" and a public drunkenness charge against a man whom he referred to as a "big union guy." The judge stated "words to the effect: 'He's a union man. I gotta take care of him.'"

In a 1999 case, Zupsic met in his office with a state trooper to seek favor in a burglary and extortion case against a man whom the magistrate described as a "friend or relative" of his "boss at IBM." The trooper later refused to the judge's request to allow the suspect to enter a rehabilitation program rather than press ahead with the case. Zupsic worked for several years as a computer software salesman for Oracle and IBM.

A former teacher, guidance counselor and township supervisor, Zupsic has served as magistrate since November 1998. He has been on sick leave since August and plans to retire March 5. His current term expires at the end of the year. Aliquippa District Judge James DiBenedetto is handling Zupsic's cases.

The case against Zupsic will be taken to the state Court of Judicial Discipline.