Pubdate: Thu, 22 Feb 2001
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2001 Southam Inc.
Contact:  300 - 1450 Don Mills Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3R5
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Author: John Chipman

U.S. JUDGE WHO DID HEROIN IN CHAMBERS ORDERED INTO REHAB PROSECUTORS 
WANTED JAIL TIME FOR CORRUPT MAGISTRATE

A former Pittsburgh magistrate once hailed as a hero for saving a 
man's life in her courtroom completed her fall from grace this week 
when she was sentenced for a drug habit that ruined her career.

Gigi Sullivan, a 40-year-old mother of an 11-year-old son, was a 
well-liked, no-nonsense justice in Pittsburgh's suburban Springdale 
district until her life began to unravel in the fall of 1999.

Just a few months later she had been reduced to working odd jobs on 
road crews between stints in a rehab centre after an addiction drew 
her into a drug ring.

As a judge, Sullivan received widespread accolades for resuscitating 
a 71-year-old man who had suffered a heart attack during a routine 
landlord-tenant dispute. The elected justice's future seemed secure 
- -- she was the Democrat incumbent in a party stronghold, and her 
re-election bid in November, 1999, seemed assured.

But there was a side to Sullivan that most did not know. What started 
out as a weakness for prescription drugs had grown into a full-blown 
addiction to heroin and cocaine. In October, 1996, Sullivan had met 
Donald Geraci, a local auto dealer who ran a US$1-million drug 
operation on the side. The two became fast friends and struck up a 
"drugs-for-favours" arrangement in which she protected his operation, 
tipped him off about police raids, and helped smuggle drugs into jail.

On Tuesday, Sullivan was sentenced to a 30-day drug rehabilitation 
program followed by 23 months of probation after pleading guilty to a 
raft of charges for her central role in the drug ring.

Noting that her crimes could carry much stiffer penalties -- up to 60 
years in prison -- Judge Robert Colville said beating her addiction 
would be difficult enough.

"As I look at this, some people might think this is easy," said Judge 
Colville, who was once Sullivan's boss in the 1980s when he was a 
district attorney and she was an office assistant. "[But] I think 
you're going to have an extraordinarily hard time with this. And if 
you mess up, I'll send you to Muncy," a local prison for women. He 
also sentenced her to five years of parole.

"I think the judge was eminently fair," said Patrick Thomassey, one 
of Sullivan's lawyers. "We are well on the way to getting this behind 
us."

Prosecutors had been pushing for jail time -- indeed, no one disputed 
that Sullivan had gone to extraordinary lengths to protect her drug 
supply.

"We are extremely disappointed," said Kevin Harley, a spokesman for 
Attorney-General Mike Fisher, whose office prosecuted the case.

Mr. Geraci and other witnesses said Sullivan did cocaine and heroin 
in her chambers before hearing cases. Mr. Geraci said he once visited 
her at court to give her prescription drugs and cocaine. In return, 
Sullivan had an inmate brought down so Mr. Geraci could pass along 
cigarettes, cash, cocaine and prescription drugs.

Another time, with state troopers waiting nearby for her to sign a 
warrant, Sullivan phoned Mr. Geraci to warn of imminent "dinner 
guests," their code for a raid, said Donna McClelland, a deputy 
attorney-general.

Sullivan was already in drug rehab when she was arrested in October, 
1999. Mr. Geraci and 19 others implicated in the drug ring were also 
arrested. He has yet to be tried, but is expected to plead guilty to 
a number of drug-related offences.

Upon her indictment, Sullivan's caseload was immediately reassigned, 
and she lost her US$55,000 position in the election two weeks later. 
Her troubles, however, continued.

Last February, she was arrested for stealing a jacket and work boots 
from a discount department store. Sullivan, who pleaded guilty to 
shoplifting and paid a fine, was working on a road crew as a Stop and 
Slow sign carrier at the time. Her lawyers said her drug addiction 
was making it difficult to hold down even menial jobs.

A month later, she was arrested for stealing clothing from an 
exchange outlet at an Air Force base in July, 1999. She pleaded 
guilty and faces up to a year in prison for the offence.

She spent 39 days at a clinic for addicts and applied to the Betty 
Ford Clinic in Palm Springs, Calif., but could not afford it, her 
lawyers said.

Then just last month, she was arrested for drunk driving after 
allegedly sideswiping a car and fleeing the scene. Police said a 
Breathalyzer test showed she had three times the legal alcohol limit 
at the time of the accident.
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