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"Maloney is not, unfortunately, the first American judge to be convicted of taking bribes in murder cases." 2
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The Honorable Thomas J. Maloney
From: Bracy v. Gramley, 520 U.S. 899, 901 (1997)
“Maloney was one of many dishonest judges exposed and convicted through "Operation Greylord," a labyrinthine federal investigation of judicial corruption in Chicago. See United States v. Maloney, 71 F.3d 645 (CA7 1995), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 927 (1996); see generally J. Tuohy & R. Warden, Greylord: Justice, Chicago Style (1989). Maloney served as a judge from 1977 until he retired in 1990, and it appears he has the dubious distinction of being the only Illinois judge ever convicted of fixing a murder case.2 Before he was appointed to the bench, Maloney was a criminal defense attorney with close ties to organized crime who often paid off judges in criminal cases. App. 54-66; 81 F.3d 684, 696 (CA7 1996) (Rovner, J., dissenting) ("[B]y the time Maloney ascended to the bench in 1977, he was well groomed in the art of judicial corruption"). Once a judge, Maloney exploited many of the relationships and connections he had developed while bribing judges to solicit bribes for himself. For example, Lucius Robinson, a bailiff through whom Maloney had bribed judges while in practice, and Robert McGee, one of Maloney's former associates, both served as "bag men," or intermediaries, between Maloney and lawyers looking for a fix. Two such lawyers, Robert J. Cooley and William A. Swano, were key witnesses against Maloney at his trial. Maloney, supra, at 650-652.”
“Maloney was convicted in Federal District Court of conspiracy, racketeering, extortion, and obstructing justice in April 1993. ...”
2 “Although apparently the first in Illinois, Maloney is not, unfortunately, the first American judge to be convicted of taking bribes in murder cases. See, e.g., Ohio v. McGettrick, 40 Ohio App. 3d 25, 531 N. E. 2d 755 (1988); In re Brennan, 65 N. Y. 2d 564, 483 N. E. 2d 484 (1985).”
Quoted from the opinion delivered by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on behalf of a unanimous court in Bracy v. Gramley, U.S. Supreme Court Case No. 96-6133, decided June 9, 1997. Tulanelink is grateful to Allan Hawkins, J.D., of YouKnowItAll.com for calling attention to this case in his on-line CLE certification course, "Texas Judicial Immunity." A more complete description of the government's case against Judge Thomas Maloney, as published in U.S. v. Maloney, 71 F.3d 645 (7th Cir. 1995), is reprinted here.
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