Philly judge suspended for nonpayment of health club and filing of incomplete financial forms

Calling his behavior “flagrant” and “unethical”, the state Judicial Disciplinary Court suspended Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Scott DiClaudio without pay for repeatedly ignoring the complaints. court orders asking him to pay money he owed to a Montgomery County health club, and for failing to disclose on state financial forms, nearly $ 300,000 in state tax liens and federal.

DiClaudio has been suspended for two weeks without pay, placed on probation until his tenure expires in January 2026, and will be assigned a mentor, according to the court order issued on Tuesday.

A message left with a staff member in the judge’s office was not returned on Thursday. DiClaudio was elected to the bench in November 2015 and was sworn in in January 2016.

His troubles began in 2015, when the Cynwyd Club, a private fitness and social club, sued him in Montgomery County High Court, claiming he owed several thousand dollars in dues, purchases and services. unpaid.

On October 24, 2019, DiClaudio agreed to pay the club $ 9,500 in two installments, according to a court record.

On December 20, 2019, the state’s Judicial Conduct Board determined that there was probable cause to bring misconduct charges against DiClaudio, alleging that his actions violated the state’s constitution and judicial code of conduct. , that he had brought the judicial office into disrepute and that he had failed to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

The court of judicial discipline found him guilty of the charges on December 1.

“Judge DiClaudio’s behavior was flagrant enough for this court to find that he has brought the judiciary into disrepute,” said the order of the board of directors.

DiClaudio’s punishment was based, in part, on the fact that six members of the eight-judge panel found that his misconduct involved multiple incidents over several years, and that some of them occurred when he was acting in his judgment. official capacity of judge.

While the panel concluded that DiClaudio had admitted his wrongdoing, was contrite and had made no other faults while the case was pending, they determined that his fault had brought the judiciary into disrepute.

“The ethical violations of Judge DiClaudio are serious matters”, specifies the order. “The reprehensible reprehensible conduct of Judge DiClaudio was clearly unethical. No one, let alone a lawyer, should ever behave in this way. “

The Dec. 1, 2020 order in which DiClaudio was found guilty stated that he failed to report in his required annual declarations of financial interests an overdue federal tax lien of $ 287,500 in 2017 and tax liens of $ 287,500 in 2017. Statement dating from 2011 and totaling over $ 26,000.