In a case that has captured the attention of legal experts and law enforcement communities alike, retired NYPD Detective and 9/11 responder Guy Simonetti finds himself in a dire situation, pitted against New York State Supreme Court Justice Ronald Castorina, Jr. Simonetti’s battle is not just a legal one. It’s a fight for his health, dignity, and the right to fair treatment in the face of alleged judicial bias and corruption.
Simonetti could lose his legs if he’s forced to travel. Staten Island’s Justice Castorina doesn’t care. Last week, Castorina ordered a bench warrant for the retired cop. Simonetti has not paid money because Castorina already took it all in his divorce case. And what he hasn’t ordered taken has been frozen.
So now, broke and sick, Castorina has found Simonetti in contempt. The Justice ordered his arrest and wants to see the elderly retired detective dragged back before him in chains all the way from Florida.
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“Castorina knows the case. He knows I left the job on total disability in 2003. He knows my medical issues, and he’s frozen all my money – my bank account, my IRA, my pensions. Then he tells me to pay an ambulette to drive me up from Florida. He’s off his rocker. We’re not all millionaires like him,” Simonetti said.
NYS Supreme Court Justice Ronald Castorina, Jr.
“He ordered all the lawyers paid with the money,” Simonetti said. “Walter Anderocci, Gary Angiuli, and now John Marangos. I also think Gina Sgaralto is helping my ex-wife from the background. Like I said in my papers, Castorina has to be taking envelopes. It’s the only explanation.”
Staten Island Attorney Gina Sgarlato in her lair.
Castorina has ordered law enforcement to arrest Simonetti at his Florida home, take him into custody, and have him dragged back in front of him on Staten Island.
On Monday, Simonetti, acting pro se, electronically filed documents with the Supreme Court Appellate Division on Monroe Place in Brooklyn. Simonetti wants the appeals court to put a stay on the case and a stop to Castorina. He underscores his physical incapacity to travel due to his medical conditions and the legal impossibility of compliance with court orders, given his financial destitution.
Health Crisis: The Perilous Condition of Guy Simonetti
At the heart of Simonetti’s plight is his debilitating health condition. After retiring from the NYPD on total disability in 2003, his health has progressively worsened.
Doctors have explicitly warned that traveling poses a severe risk to Simonetti, including the possibility of blood clots and the loss of his legs.
Elderly, Disabled, Retired NYPD Detective Guy Simonetti
This prognosis is not new. Simonetti has doctor’s letters warning of the dire risks travel poses to his health earlier this year and again recently.
“His activity for traveling was deemed restricted (no flying) per orthopedics due to his surgery and history of Factor V deficiency. Both conditions increased his risk for a blood clot. Mr. Simonetti has expressed to me that his GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) is intensified due to his divorce proceedings. He believes his emotional and physical state is causing him a hardship.”
Despite the medical evidence, Justice Castorina issued a bench warrant for Simonetti, who resides in Florida.
Castorina’s actions disregard Simonetti’s critical health issues, highlighting a concerning lack of empathy and accommodation for his disabilities.
Financial Strain and Legal Representation Issues
Castorina’s court orders have stripped away Simonetti’s financial resources. He cannot access his frozen bank accounts, and his pensions and IRAs are subject to garnishment. This financial strain has left him unable to afford legal representation.
“I was married for 31 years and worked my whole life. I put four daughters through Wagner College. When I wasn’t on the job, I was working as a plumber,” Simonetti said. “Now, I’ve got nothing, and this guy doesn’t want me to live.”
Gary Angiuli, his previous attorney, who withdrew from the case, only exacerbated this dire situation. Simonetti alleges that Angiuli’s withdrawal, following the freeze of his assets, constitutes a breach of ethical duty.
Staten Island Attorney Gary Angiuli
In the papers, Simonetti accuses him of abandoning his client in dire need and “laying down” so the other lawyers could get a “payday.”
“Attorney Angiuli’s office failed to submit the proper documentation detailing my good faith actions and the impossibility of performance that would vitiate my [default and contempt]. This is an apparent law office failure,” Simonetti’s papers say.
“Castorina knows the case. He knows I left the job on total disability in 2003. He knows my medical issues, and he’s frozen all my money – my bank account, my IRA, my pensions. Then he tells me to pay an ambulette to drive me up from Florida. He’s off his rocker. We’re not all millionaires like him,” Simonetti said.
Allegations of Judicial Bias and Misconduct
Simonetti’s legal documents paint a picture of a justice system skewed against him. He accuses Justice Castorina of harboring an anti-police bias, substantiated by instances of Castorina’s unfavorable rulings against other retired NYPD officers.
In one striking example, Castorina allegedly pressured another retired officer to give up his World Trade Center Victim’s Compensation Fund money during a divorce proceeding. Such claims cannot reach victim compensation money by law. But Castorina went off the record and allegedly bullied that retired cop to give up the money or else Castroina would “make him pay.”
A Blue Lives Matter flag.
Simonetti calls for the withdrawal of endorsements from law enforcement associations such as the NYPD Policemen’s Benevolent Association, the Detective’s Endowment Association, and Blue Lives Matter. These calls are based on what Simonetti perceives as Castorina’s consistent anti-cop stance and disregard for the well-being of law enforcement veterans who appear before him.
TIFR contacted the Office of Court Administration’s Press Office about Justice Castorina and his apparent “anti-police” judicial posture in divorce matters. There was no response as of press time.
The Mass Mutual IRA Controversy
The handling of Simonetti’s Mass Mutual IRA adds to the case’s complexity.
In a blatant contradiction of a court order declaring the IRA as Simonetti’s, his ex-wife’s lawyer, Staten Island Attorney John Marangos, put in papers freezing the funds and told the Marshal to garnish them.
Castorina was conspicuous in his September 27, 2023 Order:
“ORDERED that the Plaintiff [Linda Simonetti] transfer any and all right, title, and interest in the Mass Mutual IRA to the Defendant [Guy Simonetti]”
Simonetti suggests possible foul play in this matter, implicating Attorney Marangos in potentially unethical actions.
Staten Island Attorney John Marangos
“Attorney Marangos has been practicing law for many years. Yet, it is his signature on the Execution with Notice To Garnishee, telling the Marshall to seize my property that the Court said does not belong to [my ex-wife]. This can’t be a simple mistake. It looks like Attorney Marangos is trying to be ‘slick’ and is playing fast and loose, ignoring the Orders of this Court.”
Illegal Mass Mutual IRA Garnishment by Attorney John Marangos
In his papers, Simonetti wants both Marangos and the plaintiff, his ex-wife, to be punished.
Perjury and Corruption Allegations Against Justice Castorina
Simonetti’s allegations extend to accusing Justice Castorina of perjury and corruption. He references a 2018 incident where Castorina allegedly provided dishonest sworn testimony before a grand jury.
Several news outlets, notably Frank Report, have extensively detailed Justice Castorina’s apparent perjury. Castorina’s 2018 grand jury testimony as a witness in the People of NYS v Richard Luthmann, a former attorney and writer for this publication, and the Facebook Messenger messages he exchanged with Luthmann two to three years earlier are in stark contrast.
Did Justice Castorina commit perjury in August 2018? Many think so.
Simonetti alleges that this felony should result in Castorina’s removal from his case and the bench.
“His felonious conduct legally disqualifies him from serving as a Supreme Court Justice and all of his decisions and orders are legal nullity. Justice Castorina has it out for me because I believe the people deserve a Supreme Court Justice who isn’t a felon – charged or not.”
Moreover, Simonetti questions how certain legal decisions, such as freezing his IRA, could have occurred without corrupt influence.
A Failed Test of the New York Judicial System’s Integrity?
Guy Simonetti’s case is more than a legal dispute; it’s a glaring example of the challenges faced by litigants in the New York legal system.
In this divorce case, Castorina has punished Simonetti for being sick and having previously ordered all his money away, leaving disabled, financially constrained individuals like Simonetti with little chance.
Ethical responsibilities, the accommodation of disabilities in court proceedings, and the integrity of judicial conduct all take a back seat in this courtroom.
Justice Castorina’s apparent primary rule on the bench smacks more of an illegal back-room wiseguys poker game: “Don’t come to play without cash, or you’ll be sorry.”
Omg !!!!!!!
A modern day mobster sitting on the bench
Disgraceful