Cioppa v. State Employees' Ret. Sys.
| Decision Date | 03 August 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 1219 C.D. 2014,1219 C.D. 2014 |
| Parties | Ross C. Cioppa and Maureen Cioppa, Petitioners v. State Employees' Retirement System, Respondent |
| Court | Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court |
BEFORE: HONORABLE BONNIE BRIGANCE LEADBETTER, Judge1 HONORABLE ANNE E. COVEY, Judge HONORABLE JAMES GARDNER COLINS, Senior Judge
OPINION NOT REPORTED
This matter is a petition for review filed by Ross C. Cioppa (Mr. Cioppa), a former Magisterial District Judge, and Maureen Cioppa (Mrs. Cioppa), his wife, appealing an order of the State Employees' Retirement Board (Board) denying their appeals of two decisions of the State Employees' Retirement System (SERS) forfeiting Mr. Cioppa's entire accrued pension benefits and Mrs. Cioppa's rights under his pension. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.
Mr. Cioppa was a member of SERS from April 13, 1973 until July 31, 1979 as an employee of the Department of Transportation and the Department of Revenue. Board Opinion at 8; Hearing Officer Findings of Fact (F.F.) ¶¶1-3; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶¶1-3, Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 46a.When he left state employment in 1979, he filed for and received a refund of his member contributions and interest. Board Opinion at 8; Hearing Officer F.F. ¶4; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶4, R.R. at 46a. On June 25, 1999, Mr. Cioppa resumed SERS membership as a District Justice (now Magisterial District Judge)2 elected for a six-year term. Board Opinion at 8; Hearing Officer F.F. ¶5; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶5, R.R. at 46a. In 2000, he purchased his previously withdrawn 6.4122 years of service credit, and in 2004 purchased .5861 years of military service credit. Board Opinion at 8; Hearing Officer F.F. ¶¶6-7; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶¶6-7, R.R. at 46a. In 2005, he was re-elected to another six-year term as Magisterial District Judge. Board Opinion at 8; Hearing Officer F.F. ¶8; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶8, R.R. at 47a.
On October, 12, 2011, Mr. Cioppa was charged with the criminal offenses of bribery, official oppression and indecent assault and was suspended with pay by the Judicial Conduct Board. Board Opinion at 8; Hearing Officer F.F. ¶9; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶9, R.R. at 47a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 1, R.R. at 50a-51a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 2 F.F. ¶¶3-5, R.R. at 55a-56a. Mr. Cioppa resigned from office on December 9, 2011, electing to retire under SERS Option 2, naming Mrs. Cioppa as his survivor annuitant, with a full Option 4 withdrawal of his accumulated deductions. Board Opinion at 8; Hearing Officer F.F. ¶¶10-11; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶¶10-11, R.R. at 47a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 2 F.F. ¶6, R.R. at 56a. At the time that he resigned, Mr. Cioppa was 70 years old and had a total of 19.4626 years of credited service inSERS. Board Opinion at 8; Hearing Officer F.F. ¶¶1 n.1, 10; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶10, R.R. at 47a.
On April 12, 2012, Mr. Cioppa pleaded guilty to two charges of official oppression and two charges of indecent assault, for which he was sentenced to six months house arrest and four years' probation, and the bribery charges were withdrawn. Board Opinion at 8; Hearing Officer F.F. ¶12; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶12, R.R. at 47a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 1, R.R. at 50a-51a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 2 F.F. ¶¶7, 9, R.R. at 56a-57a. The offenses to which he pleaded guilty arose out of incidents in which he asked for sexual favors from two female tenants in landlord-tenant cases before him in exchange for favorable rulings in their cases. Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 2 F.F. ¶8, R.R. at 56a-57a. Mrs. Cioppa has been married to Mr. Cioppa since 1964. Board Opinion at 5-6 F.F. ¶34; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶20, R.R. at 48a. There is no claim or evidence that Mrs. Cioppa had any involvement in or knowledge of her husband's misconduct or that she benefitted from his misconduct in any way.
On April 20, 2012, the Judicial Conduct Board filed a formal complaint against Mr. Cioppa seeking disciplinary action against him for the conduct admitted in his guilty pleas. Board Opinion at 5-6 F.F. ¶27; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶13, R.R. at 47a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 2, R.R. at 53a. On July 24, 2012, the Court of Judicial Discipline ordered, pursuant to Article V, Section 18(d)(1) of the Constitution, that Mr. Cioppa be removed from the office of Magisterial District Judge and that he "shall hereafter be ineligible to hold any judicial office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." Board Opinion at 5-6 F.F. ¶¶28-29; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶¶14-15, R.R. at 47a;Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 2, R.R. at 64a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 3, R.R. at 65a.
In April 2012, SERS notified the Cioppas that Mr. Cioppa's pension benefits and Mrs. Cioppa's rights under his pension were being forfeited pursuant to the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act (PEPFA)3 as result of his April 12, 2012 guilty plea to charges of official oppression. Docket No. 2012-30 Joint Stipulation ¶13, R.R. at 113a. In August 2012, SERS notified the Cioppas that Mr. Cioppa's pension benefits and Mrs. Cioppa's rights under his pension were being forfeited pursuant to Article V, Section 16(b) of the Pennsylvania Constitution and Section 3352(a) of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa. C.S. § 3352(a), as result of a July 24, 2012 decision of the Court of Judicial Discipline removing him from office and barring him from holding judicial office in the future. Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶16, R.R. at 47a. The Cioppas appealed the April 2012 and August 2012 forfeitures to the Board. Docket No. 2012-30 Joint Stipulation ¶14, R.R. at 113a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶17, R.R. at 47a; Appeal Letters, R.R. at 1a-5a, 10a-13a, 16a-20a, 97a-101a. Those appeals were consolidated, and the parties submitted the appeals to the Board's hearing officer on stipulated facts and exhibits.
On March 10, 2014, the hearing officer issued findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending denial of the appeals. The Cioppas filed exceptions to the hearing officer's opinion. On June 19, 2014, the Board overruled the Cioppas' exceptions and denied their requests to reinstate pension benefits. In that opinion, the Board adopted the hearing officer's findings of fact and made 12 additional findings of fact based on stipulated facts not included in the hearingofficer's opinion.4 The Cioppas timely appealed the Board's decision to this Court.5
The Board correctly upheld the forfeiture of Mr. Cioppa's pension rights under PEPFA, Article V, Section 16(b) of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and Section 3352(a) of the Judicial Code. Section 3(a) of PEPFA provides:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no public official or public employee nor any beneficiary designated by such public official or public employee shall be entitled to receive any retirement or other benefit or payment of any kind except a return of the contribution paid into any pension fund without interest, if such public official or public employee is convicted or pleads guilty or no defense to any crime related to public office or public employment.
43 P.S. § 1313(a). Official oppression, one of the crimes to which Mr. Cioppa pleaded guilty, is a "crime related to public office or public employment" under PEPFA. Section 2 of PEPFA, 43 P.S. § 1312.
Article V, Section 16(b) of the Pennsylvania Constitution prohibits payment of any retirement benefits to any judge, including a magisterial district judge, who under Article V, Section 18 "is suspended, removed or barred from holding judicial office for conviction of a felony or misconduct in office or conduct which prejudices the proper administration of justice or brings the judicial officeinto disrepute." Pa. Const. art. V, § 16(b).6 Section 3352(a) of the Judicial Code prohibits payment of any retirement benefits to any judge, including a magisterial district judge, who "is suspended or removed from office under section 18 of Article V or under Article VI of the Constitution of Pennsylvania." 42 Pa. C.S. § 3352(a).7
The July 24, 2012 order of the Court of Judicial Discipline satisfies the forfeiture requirements of both of these provisions. It imposed discipline pursuant to Article V, Section 18(d) of the Constitution for conduct in office which is contrary to the proper administration of justice and brings the judicial office into disrepute and ordered that Mr. Cioppa "is hereby removed from office as magisterial district judge." Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 2, R.R. at 64a ; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 3, R.R. at 65a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶¶14-15, R.R. at 47a. In addition, it is sufficient to support forfeiture under Article V, Section 16(b), independent of the removal from office, because, pursuant to ArticleV, Section 18(d) of the Constitution, it also barred him from holding judicial office as a sanction for that conduct. Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Stipulation ¶¶14-15, R.R. at 47a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 2, R.R. at 64a; Docket No. 2012-29 Joint Ex. 3, R.R. at 65a.
Mr. Cioppa does not dispute that his guilty plea satisfies the requirements for forfeiture under PEPFA. Nor does he contest that the conduct for which July 24, 2012 Court of Judicial Discipline order was issued satisfies the requirements for forfeiture under Article V, Section 16(b) of the Constitution and Section 3352(a) of the Judicial Code. Rather, he contends 1) that the pension benefits that he earned prior to the term of office in which he committed the acts for which he pled guilty are not forfeited under PEPFA; and 2) that his pension benefits could not be forfeited under Article V, Section 16(b) of the Pennsylvania Constitution and Section 3352(a) of the Judicial Code because he had retired and was over the age of 70 at the time that Court of Judicial Discipline acted against him. Neither...
To continue reading
Request your trial