Panel: NY town justice bragged of pulling gun on Black man

WHITEHALL, N.Y. (AP) — A judicial conduct panel says a town justice in upstate New York who bragged to colleagues about pulling a loaded gun on a “large Black man” in court should be removed from office. The state Commission on Judicial Conduct says Robert J. Putorti was presiding in a criminal case in 2015 when he brandished a semiautomatic handgun at a defendant. The incident only came to light in 2018 when Putorti boasted about his actions at a meeting of the Washington County Magistrates Association. A message seeking comment was left with Putorti’s attorney.