DELHI - Delhi Justice Richard L. Gumo, who announced his retirement and voluntary resignation to the Delhi Town Council via a letter dated Sept. 12, was under scrutiny from the state’s judicial ethics commission, based on a complaint filed against him on May 24, 2022 and an amended complaint filed Aug. 29.
Gumo was accused of refusing to appoint the Delaware County Public Defender’s office to represent criminal defendants in his court because he had “animosity” toward the public defender, according to findings from the judicial ethics commission, dated Sept. 15.
Gumo was also accused of penning a recusal letter to Delaware County Court, falsely claiming that the public defender had accused him and his court clerk of “forging” their signatures on court documents, according to the judicial ethics commission decision.
Gumo answered the allegations, denying them, June 10; and when the amended complaint was filed, he denied those allegations as well. Gumo “specifically denies any animosity toward the Public Defender,” the ethics commission stated in its findings.
Gumo will officially leave the bench Sept. 30 and is barred from holding a judicial position in the future. In his resignation letter to the town of Delhi, Gumo stated that he will return to private practice.
Gumo, 81, has been an attorney for 55 years and has held the position of Delhi justice since Jan. 2008. He was an acting village justice in Walton from 2009 to 2015.
Gumo’s term of office expires on Dec. 31, 2025.
