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Corbishley v. Napolitano
Corbishley v. Napolitano
Plaintiff, COMPLAINT
ANDREW NAPOLITANO,
Defendant.
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JOSEPH & NORINSBERG, LLC, brings this action against defendant ANDREW NAPOLITANO
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
1. Plaintiff brings this civil action seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages
and attorney’s fees pursuant to New Jersey Law C.2A:14-2B (“C.2A:14-2B”), as a result of being
forcibly sodomized and sexually assaulted by defendant Napolitano, who was a state court judge
in New Jersey presiding over Plaintiff’s criminal case when the assault occurred.
JURY DEMAND
3. This Court has jurisdiction over the parties under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, since Plaintiff
is a resident of the State of South Carolina, and Defendant is a resident of the State of New York,
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4. Venue is properly placed in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(1), since defendant Napolitano resides in
C.2A:14-2B, which was enacted on May 13, 2019, and went into effect on December 1, 2019.
Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant committed intentional acts which resulted in Plaintiff suffering
physical, psychological or other injuries or conditions as a direct and proximate result of conduct
which constitutes a sexual offense committed against his person, as defined in Section 1 of P.L.
1992, c. 109, as amended on May 13, 2019. This action, moreover, has not been filed until after
6. Unlike New York’s analogous “Child Victims Act,” New Jersey’s sexual abuse
statute specifically allows for victims who were over eighteen (18) when the abuse occurred to file
suits that would otherwise be time-barred. 1 Specifically, under P.L. 2019c.120 (C.A:14-2a et al.),
the statute of limitations is extended for sexual assault victims who were 18 years of age or older
PARTIES
of South Carolina.
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https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2019/05/13/nj-extends-statute-limitations-child-abuse-
cases/1183930001/
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in the State of New Jersey, and who was, at all relevant times, a New Jersey Superior Court Justice.
10. At all relevant times, Defendant NAPOLITANO was the presiding Justice on a
STATEMENT OF FACTS
cleaning services company in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Mr. Corbishley also does search
engine optimization (“SEO”) for several companies, including SEO coding, website designs and
12. As a young man, Plaintiff CHARLES CORBISHLEY had a difficult family life,
and he was frequently in and out of trouble with the law as a teenager and a young man.
13. During the times relevant to the allegations set forth herein, Plaintiff CHARLES
CORBISHLEY was facing arson charges stemming from a three-count indictment in November
1987.
Plaintiff Retains Robert A. Hollis, Esq., to Defend Him Against Criminal Charges.
14. Thereafter, Plaintiff retained the services of Robert A. Hollis, Esq. (“Hollis”), a
15. Unbeknownst to Mr. Corbishley, Hollis was running a national prostitution ring at
the time.
16. Hollis’ unlawful activities were detailed at length in an article in New York
17. In this article, entitled “the Screwball Scheme,” New York Magazine referred to
Hollis as a “lawyer of remarkable incompetence” and a “disgraced attorney,” who was “second in
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command” in a massive, sixteen (16) million-dollar prostitution and money laundering ring. (Id.).
18. In 1998, Hollis pled guilty to federal money laundering charges for prostitution
19. Apart from his criminal activities, Mr. Hollis also had been suspended from the
New Jersey bar on multiple occasions, from 1982 to 1985, from 1993 to 1996, and for all of 1998.
In the 1993 matter, Hollis was found to have engaged in conduct “involving dishonesty, fraud,
deceit or misrepresentation.”
Hollis Gets Plaintiff’s Criminal Case Switched Over to Judge Napolitano, Whom He Refers
to as “My Friend.”
20. Shortly after Hollis took over Mr. Corbishley’s case, the criminal matter was
21. After the case was switched to Defendant NAPOLITANO, Hollis told Plaintiff that
22. After the case was transferred to Defendant NAPOLITANO, Hollis instructed
Plaintiff to plead guilty to all three counts of the indictment. There was no plea arrangement,
23. Through his position as a New Jersey Superior Court Justice, Defendant
NAPOLITANO was thus put in direct contact with Plaintiff CHARLES CORBISHLEY.
24. Mr. Hollis used his position as Plaintiff’s criminal defense attorney to arrange for
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and/or Robert Hollis, so as to arrange for a clandestine location where Napolitano could meet
26. Under the direction and advice of his attorney Mr. Hollis, Mr. Corbishley went to
the residence, located in Hackensack, New Jersey, to meet Defendant ANDREW NAPOLITANO.
27. Mr. Corbishley was instructed to bring a snow-shovel, as well as a Christmas card
28. Mr. Corbishley complied with his attorney’s request, and went to the residence as
29. Upon arrival at the residence, Mr. Corbishley rang the doorbell, and Defendant
answered the door. Plaintiff then handed over the Christmas card to Defendant ANDREW
30. Defendant NAPOLITANO greeted Plaintiff by name, asking him: “how are you
doing Charlie?”
31. Defendant NAPOLITANO then instructed Plaintiff to shovel the driveway, starting
out in the front and then to work his way around the house.
32. Plaintiff found this request to be peculiar, because the driveway already had been
shoveled, and there did not appear to be any heavy snow around the house that needed shoveling.
In fact, all Plaintiff could see was a layer of ice on the ground, but there was little, if any snow,
33. Thereafter, Plaintiff CHARLES CORBISHLEY lit a cigarette and pondered what
to do next. He did not understand why he had been asked to come over to this house and shovel
snow for Judge Napolitano, since it was clear that there was no snow that needed to be shoveled.
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trench coat. Defendant Napolitano then called out to Plaintiff and summoned him to come to the
side of the house, saying “can you come back here for a minute?”
35. Plaintiff then walked over to the side of the house where Defendant NAPOLITANO
was standing.
36. Defendant NAPOLITANO then proceeded to make small talk with Plaintiff, asking
about his family life, and the family-owned pharmacy in town, Mira Pharmacy.
and stated “you know, you could be going away for a long time.”
Plaintiff’s shoulder, and forced Plaintiff to his knees. As he pushed Plaintiff down toward the
clothing, moving his hand back and forth over his penis. Thereafter, Defendant NAPOLITANO
40. Plaintiff Charles Corbishley was then forced to perform fellatio on the Honorable
41. At this moment, Plaintiff was paralyzed with fear. He wanted desperately to stop
Defendant NAPOLITANO’s sexual assault, but he was terrified about what Judge Napolitano
42. Based on the power disparity between Judge Napolitano and Corbishley, it was
impossible for Plaintiff CHARLES CORBISHLEY to have “consented” to any sexual activities
with NAPOLITANO.
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43. Based on the power disparity between Judge Napolitano and Corbishley, it was
impossible for Plaintiff CHARLES CORBISHLEY to be a “willing partner” in any type of sexual
44. As Defendant began to ejaculate into Plaintiff’s mouth, Plaintiff took off crying and
ran away. Plaintiff was only 20 years old at the time of this sexual assault. (Ex. B, Photo of
Plaintiff).
45. Plaintiff then stopped by a nearby diner and desperately tried to clean himself and
46. About two days later, Mr. Corbishley spoke to Mr. Hollis. During this conversation,
Mr. Hollis intimated that he knew exactly what had happened between Judge Napolitano and Mr.
Corbishley. Specifically, Hollis told Mr. Corbishley something to the effect that “we both have
After Forcibly Sodomizing Plaintiff, Judge Napolitano Rewards Him with an Extremely
Light Sentence.
47. After the sexual assault, Mr. Corbishley, on the advice of Hollis, pled guilty to all
48. In connection with this plea, the bottom two criminal charges were dismissed, and
49. Judge Napolitano then imposed a remarkably lenient sentence, allowing Mr.
Corbishley to avoid any jail time whatsoever, and instead, imposing a sentence of five-year’s
50. This sentence was exceptionally light, given the serious nature of the underlying
criminal charges -- arson, burglary of a motor vehicle, and aggravated arson -- as well as Plaintiff’s
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51. By comparison, Edward Weedo -- Mr. Corbishley’s co-defendant in the case, who
was indicted on the exact same three criminal charges (Indictment No. S-0230-88) -- was
52. Mr. Weedo had been represented by Waltern Kern, Esq., a well-known and highly
remarkable incompetence.” (Ex. A). Yet, somehow, Hollis was able to get a much better outcome
54. Not only did Judge Napolitano impose a much lighter sentence on Corbishley than
on Weedo, but also, he ordered that any future violations of probation by Corbishley would be
Plaintiff Repeatedly Violates His Probation, But Judge Napolitano Looks the Other Way and
Actually Vacates the Order of 150 Hours of Community Service
55. Thereafter, Plaintiff violated his probation and was sentenced on August 8, 1991,
57. That same month, immediately after this sentencing, Plaintiff failed three separate
drug tests -- one on August 14, 1991, another on August 28, 1991, and a third one on September
14, 1991 -- with each one of these failed tests constituting a violation of his probation.
58. Thereafter, on September 15, 1991, Plaintiff was arrested on narcotic and firearms
charges.
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60. Thereafter, Hollis, the facilitator of plaintiff’s sexual assault -- and the one who
had told Plaintiff that “we both have him now” and “don't worry about anything” -- filed a motion
61. Shockingly, Defendant NAPOLITANO granted the motion in its entirety, and
simply released Plaintiff, stating his reasons for doing so as follows: “The Court finds that the
defendant has been burdened with probation long enough given the nature of the original offense,
and that further probation would be fruitless and frustrative for both the defendant and probation
department.”
motion -- despite the serious weapons and narcotics charges against CORBISHLEY, and the three
63. NAPOLITANO’s leniency was a deliberate and calculated attempt to create “good
will” with Plaintiff, and thereby ensure that Plaintiff would remain silent about Defendant
64. In a brazen attempt to intimidate Plaintiff and stop him from filing this lawsuit,
Defendant NAPOLITANO recently reached out to law enforcement authorities and made
New Jersey (Detective Michael Braccioforte) and/or in South Carolina (Detective “John” Sotile),
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and told the police that Plaintiff had made threats of violence against him.
66. These claims were outright fabrications. Plaintiff never made any threats
67. In fact, Plaintiff has not seen or spoken to Defendant NAPOLITANO in almost
thirty (30) years, and has had no contact whatsoever with him during this time period.
68. Defendant NAPOLITANO made up these outrageous claims for the purpose of
harassing, intimidating and silencing Plaintiff, and deterring him from filing this lawsuit.
Plaintiff went ahead and filed this lawsuit, Defendant NAPOLITANO would use his power and
reached out to several members of Plaintiff’s family, including his mother, sister and aunt, and
told them that they were investigating a claim that Mr. Corbishley had made threats against a judge
in New Jersey.
71. Such actions caused Plaintiff to suffer severe emotional distress and
embarrassment. In the past two decades, Mr. Corbishley had worked very hard to become a
respectable and productive member of society, and to put his criminal past behind him. Yet, as a
direct result of NAPOLITANO’s manufactured “threat” claims, it now made Plaintiff’s family
think that he had done something wrong and was in trouble with the law again. This, by itself,
caused Plaintiff to experience severe emotional distress above and beyond the trauma caused by
72. Defendant NAPOLITANO not only attempted to harass and intimidate Plaintiff,
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73. Upon information and belief, after learning the identity of one of the witnesses upon
whom Plaintiff intended to rely, Defendant NAPOLITANO, either himself or through a third party
working on his behalf, disclosed the name of this witness to law enforcement authorities in New
Jersey, who in turn contacted the police in Pennsylvania, where the witness resided.
74. Thereafter, the Pennsylvania police tracked down this witness and went to his
home, and started to aggressively question him regarding the whereabouts of Charles Corbishley.
Following this encounter, the witness was extremely upset and unnerved by his interaction with
the police.
Plaintiff CHARLES CORBISHLEY has suffered and will continue to suffer great pain of mind
and body, severe and permanent emotional distress, and physical manifestations of emotional
distress.
76. Mr. Corbishley has recently been diagnosed by a forensic psychologist as suffering
from “pronounced symptoms related to PTSD” as a result of being sexually assaulted. According
to this psychologist, “it is clear that having been sexually abused by the defendant has left a
negative, indelible [and] traumatic impact on Mr. Corbishley’s life.” Indeed, Mr. Corbishley
“continues to suffer from a host of rather serious post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms which
have compromised his ability to adequately cope with life and to take good care of himself.”
77. Since the date of this sexual assault, Plaintiff CHARLES CORBISHLEY has been
78. Further, as a result of this assault, Plaintiff has developed a host of serious physical
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ailments that are directly related to the severe anxiety and emotional distress that he suffered from
CHARLES CORBISHLEY has suffered severe, permanent and irreparable emotional and physical
80. Plaintiff CHARLES CORBISHLEY repeats and realleges each and every
81. Defendant ANDREW NAPOLITANO did sexually assault, sexually abuse, and/or
have sexual contact with Plaintiff in violation of the laws of the State of New Jersey.
82. By sexually assaulting, sexually abusing, and/or having sexual contact with
83. By sexually assaulting, sexually abusing, and/or having sexual contact with
84. As a direct result of Defendant’s conduct, Plaintiff has suffered the injuries and
damages and for punitive damages, together with interest and costs.
86. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth above as if fully
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alia, assault, battery, severe emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, physical pain and
89. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth above as if fully
manner.
CORBISHLEY.
alia, assault, battery, severe emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, physical pain and
93. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every allegation set forth above as if fully
94. The aforementioned conduct was extreme and outrageous, and exceeded all
95. The aforementioned conduct was intentional and done for the sole purpose of
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suffered severe emotional distress, physical and mental injury, together with embarrassment,
C. Awarding costs and fees of this action, including attorneys’ fees to the extent
permitted by law;
E. Awarding such other and further relief as to this Court may seem just and proper.
BY: ___________________________
Jon L. Norinsberg, Esq.
Attorneys for Plaintiff
110 E. 59th Street, Suite 3200
New York, N.Y. 10022
(212) 227-5700
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