{"id":70506,"date":"2025-12-14T19:55:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T19:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/70506\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T19:55:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T19:55:21","slug":"annual-judges-holiday-party-in-honor-of-justice-philip-g-minardo-a-huge-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/70506\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual judge\u2019s holiday party in honor of Justice Philip G. Minardo a huge success"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 As a way to celebrate the holiday season, honor a longtime holiday tradition, and foster camaraderie among the borough\u2019s justices and judges, members of the Staten Island legal community gather each year to make merry.<\/p>\n

The annual holiday gathering was initially the brainstorm of the late New York State Supreme Court Justice Philip G. Minardo, who was the first administrative judge of the newly created 13th Judicial District of Staten Island.<\/p>\n

\"Judges\"From the left, retired Family Court Judge Helene Sacco, Federal Court Judge Eric N. Vitaliano and Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"From the left, Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon, Federal Court Judge Eric N. Vitaliano, Civil Court Judge-elect Matthew Santamauro, Christina Santamauro and Biju Koshy, supervising judge of the Criminal Court. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

When Justice Minardo retired, party plans were taken over by NYS Supreme Court Justice Orlando (Lindy) Marrazzo Jr.<\/p>\n

\"Judges\"Chris Martin and NYS Supreme Court Justice Orlando (Lindy) Marrazzo Jr. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

As a way to pay homage to Justice Minardo who passed away in April of last year, the party was renamed the Hon. Philip G. Minardo Holiday Party, and held in Bocelli Ristorante in Grasmere.<\/p>\n

\"Judges\"NYS Supreme Court Justices, Mario Mattei, Orlando (Lindy) Marrazzo Jr. and retired NYS Supreme Court Justice Judith N. McMahon. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"From the left, NYS Supreme Court Justice Orlando (Lindy) Marrazzo Jr., Civil Court Judge elect Matthew Santamauro and Raymond Rodriguez, administrative judge of Richmond County. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

In his welcoming remarks Friday evening Justice Marrazzo noted: \u201cIt was Phil Minardo\u2019s idea to celebrate the holidays with this party. And that\u2019s why we named it after him. And I am sure Phil is looking down on us tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Judges\"From the left, NYS Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio and retired Judge Joseph Maltese, associate justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

Justice Marrazzo offered the Invocation for Rev. Michael Martine, who arrived later than scheduled because he conducted a service to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe in Holy Rosary R.C. Church, where Rev. Martine serves as pastor.<\/p>\n

\"Judges\"From the left, Judge Alexis Riley, attorney, Chris Caputo, retired NYS Supreme Court Justice Judith N. McMahon, Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon, Joanne Mastro, and William Mastro, retired associate justice, Appellate Division, Second Department. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to do justice and to be humble and to treat treat people in the way the Lord wanted,\u201d said Justice Marrazzo. \u201cAnd we thank you for for this time of joy and gathering as we celebrate the holidays. And we are grateful for the gifts of friendship, peace and the chance to connect outside our usual roles. May this evening be filled with warmth and gratitude and the true spirit of the season.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Judges\"Joanne Mastro and William Mastro, retired associate judge of the Appellate Division, Second Department. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

Justice Marrazzo noted that last year NYS Supreme Court Justice Kim Dollard, who passed away in January, was present for the celebration. \u201cI ask for a moment of silence for the late Kim,\u201d he said. \u201cHer husband Jamie is here tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Judges\"From the left, retired NYS Supreme Court Justices Judith N. McMahon and Barbara Panepinto and retired Family Court Judge Helene Sacco. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

On a happier note when Justice Marrazzo announced that Family Court Judge Karen Wolff was just reappointed \u2014 a rousing round of applause filled the banquet room at the Grasmere dining spot.<\/p>\n

\"Judges\"Raymond Rodriguez, administrative judge of Richmond County, and Family Court Judge Marjorie Steinberg. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"NYS Supreme Court Justice Mario Mattei, Civil Court Judge Michael Pinto, and NYS Supreme Court Justice Lisa Grey. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd here for the first time is Civil Court Judge Matthew Santamauro,\u201d Justice Marrazzo continued. \u201cHe\u2019s been a friend and fellow barrister and like a brother to me. On Dec. 23 he will be sworn in as a Civil Court Judge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Judges\"From the left, retired NYS Supreme Court Justice Thomas Aliotta, and Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

And now a retirement, he add. \u201cCongratulations to Judith N. McMahon on her retirement from the bench,\u201d he said. \u201cI first met her when she was a court attorney for Judge Leone. And thank you because I\u2019ve inherited her chambers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to everyone here tonight,\u201d said Justice McMahon. \u201cAnd thank you for being fabulous colleagues. Being a judge is an isolated position. And it\u2019s important to have people to talk to like Mario, Wayne and Lindy. I want to thank all of you. It has been a tremendous run. When you so enjoy what you do, it isn\u2019t work, it\u2019s a pleasure. God bless all of you and the very best to the 13th Judicial District.\u201d<\/p>\n

The evening\u2019s entertainment was provided by renowned entertainer\/singer\/songwriter Alex Leonard on keyboard.<\/p>\n

\"Judges\"The world renowned Alex Leonard entertains the crowd on keyboard. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"From the left, NYS Supreme Court Justice Mario Mattei, attorney, Jay Duskin, and attorney, Grace Mattei. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com)\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"From the left, Joanne Mastro, Civil Court Judge Alexis Riley and attorney, Chris Caputo. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"From the left, Rev. Michael Martine, Eileen Martine, Christine Martin, and NYS Supreme Court Justices Orlando (Lindy) Marrazzo Jr. and Mario Mattei. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"Judges, attorneys, and friends, enjoy the holiday gathering. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"Judges and friends enjoy dinner at the holiday party. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"Judges and friends enjoy the holiday gathering at Bocelli Ristoerante. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti)Staten Island Advance\"Judges\"Judges and friends smile for the camera at the holiday party. (Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com\/Carol Ann Benanti) Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 As a way to celebrate the holiday season, honor a longtime holiday tradition, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-70506","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}