Mayor appoints first woman as Associate Justice in Amityville

by Carolyn James

Amityville Village Mayor Peter T. Imbert has named Associate (Acting) Village Poloce Justice James Montgomery as Village Police Justice, replacing the late Judge Walter Saxton who served in that post for 30 years and who died in August. Local resident and former school board member Debra Urbano, who served as the Village’s prosecutor, takes over Montgomery’s place as Acting Village Justice.

"I am very honored to have been selected by the Mayor for this post and Judge Walter Saxton is a hard act to follow," said Montgomery.

Judge Montgomery has been an Amityville Village resident for 41 years and served as Acting or Associate Justice for 17 years. He and his Margaret have two children, Alexander and Katherine, and two grandchildren.

Prior to being named as Acting Police Justice, Montgomery was Village prosecutor for five years. An attorney in private practice, he is semi-retired and enjoys sailing and tending to his vegetable garden. He was also a member of the Amityville Village Fire Department for 27 years, serving with the Fire Police Company, and a member of the Amityville Library Board.

"I will try to do my best and apply the law as I see it," said Montgomery in discussing his role on the bench. "And I am very happy to be working with Debbie (Urbano), who is a capable, competent person."

Urbano, a former member of the Amityville School Board and an attorney, is married and the mother of three children. She is the first woman to serve as Police Justice in Amityville.

Top photo, Judge Montgomery takes oath of ofice. Middle, Glenn Nugent is sworn in and above Mayor swears in Amityville's first woman Justice Debra Urbano. Photos by Joe Turner

"I am very confident that she will work out well," said Imbert in announcing his choice for the post. "She has done a fantastic job as Village prosecutor."

Urbano expressed interest in the position last year and Imbert said that he had several conversations with her and Judge Montgomery before deciding what to do. "I just felt that after serving for 17 years it was the right thing to give Judge Montgomery the post formerly held by Judge Saxton," said Imbert. "And this will give Debra Urbano an opportunity to get comfortable in the position of associate judge."

For her part, newly appointed Judge Urbano said she was proud to have been selected and looked forward to working with Judge Montgomery in helping to find ways to run Amityville Village Court in the most efficient and judicial way. "I want to work with the Village to handle the large case load that comes before the court and make sure that all parties involved are treated fairly," said Urbano, who served as Village prosecutor for five years.

Urbano is a former Suffolk County attorney specializing in Civil Rights litigation, and a former special assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District under Rudolph Giuliani. She also served as assistant district attorney in Bronx County, and an assistant Town Attorney in Huntington. Her varied background, as well as her experience as a Village prosecutor will help her on the bench, said Urbano. Any pending cases in which Urbano was acting as Village Prosecutor will be handed by Judge Montgomery when they come before the court to avoid any conflicts.

In yet a third appointment, Mayor Imbert appointed Glenn Nugent as Village prosecutor. Nugent is a lifelong Amityville resident and is an attorney with the law firm of Bruce Kennedy in Amityville. Married with two children, he is a member of St. Martin’s parish and the Unqua Corinthian Yacht Club.

Nugent said he did not seek the position but was approached by the Mayor. "I decided to accept because I knew the Village needed a prosecutor and think I can do a good job," he said.

Amityville Village Court handles New York State Penal violation and misdemeanor cases and those involving Village Code.

Elections for the position of Police Justice are in March and Montgomery said he is not considering running for reelection.

In other Village news, the Village Board:

•authorized the mayor to sign a municipal agreement with Suffolk County for Bay security;

•called public hearings to consider increasing the fees for zoning and planning board applications in certain situations and to increase the fee for rezoning applications to the Board of Trustees and to adopt the New York State Uniform ire Prevention and Building Code to amend Village Code and allow crawl spaces in certain flood zones;

•approved a requisition from the Amityville LeBourget Alliance for reimbursement of funds for a farewell dinner held recently.