Alaska Judge Steps Down After Keeping Courtroom Waiting As He Watched Tv. Then His Name Surfaces In Sex-trafficking Probes

A now-former Alaska judge has been accused of lying to officials astir his interactions pinch suspected sex workers — conscionable weeks aft retiring amid unrelated allegations that included arriving precocious for a tribunal proceeding because he was watching a sporting arena connected TV.

Romano DiBenedetto, 57, was nan taxable of a 2023 title to nan Alaska Commission connected Judicial Conduct astir his "use of Facebook successful a measurement that implied Facebook friendships pinch evident female activity workers and was easy publically viewable," to a charging archive revenge past week.

When questioned astir it, DiBenedetto, who was appointed to nan chair successful 2017 and retained by voters successful 2020, allegedly acted amazed and denied immoderate involvement.

"He agreed to return steps that would destruct nan problematic nationalist posts that created nan quality of impropriety and would activity pinch tribunal unit to guarantee that his individual Facebook page would conform pinch expected standards," committee Chairperson Amy Mead wrote.

But successful February, nan committee was informed that an expert pinch nan authorities Department of Public Safety had recognized DiBenedetto's sanction successful relationship pinch “two abstracted closed criminal investigations into sex trafficking" successful 2021 and 2023, according to nan charging document.

"As portion of nan physics information postulation successful those investigations, nan judge’s telephone number appeared erstwhile successful each investigation," Mead wrote. "Each telephone was to a different unfortunate of nan activity trafficking cognition and was brief, lasting astir 20 seconds."

Mead besides alleged that successful DiBenedetto’s consequence to nan 2023 complaint, he "misrepresented his knowledge of why nan posts were connected his Facebook page pinch nan intent to impact nan Commission’s actions."

"Based connected those mendacious statements and misrepresentations, nan Commission closed that title file," she wrote.

The filing charges DiBenedetto, who formerly presided complete Superior Court cases successful Nome, pinch violating 3 sections of Alaska rule governing judges’ actions and 4 canons of nan Alaska Judicial Code of Conduct.

A petition for remark sent to DiBenedetto's tribunal strategy email address, which is still connected record pinch nan Alaska Bar Association, bounced backmost pinch a connection saying his relationship was nary longer active. DiBenedetto's Anchorage-based lawyer, John Cashion, didn't respond to an email seeking comment.

Last week’s filing came aft DiBenedetto submitted a March 27 missive to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, posted online by power position KNOM, successful which he said he he would discontinue connected April 1, adding, "It has been a pleasance and an grant to service nan citizens of Alaska."

At nan time, DiBenedetto was facing a nationalist reprimand aft agreeing to nan commission's findings that he showed up precocious to an after-hours tribunal proceeding successful January 2024 because he'd been watching an unspecified “televised sporting event.”

In his charismatic bio connected nan Alaska Court System website, DiBenedetto listed his individual interests arsenic fitness, running, hiking and “talking sports of each sort."

He besides didn't title findings that had a wont of canceling, moving aliases delaying hearings connected short announcement for individual reasons, and had mocked witnessed who testified successful his courtroom by imitating their "ethnic voices" successful beforehand of courthouse staffers.

But earlier this month, nan committee asked Alaska's Supreme Court to clasp disconnected connected imposing DiBenedetto’s agreed-up reprimand, saying it had "recently go alert of new, antecedently unreported, facts that impact its proposal for subject successful this matter."

DiBenedetto has until May 18 to respond to nan latest charges against him.