"HALF OF WHAT HE TOOK IS MINE"
Gotta love the brothers Garson. With his brother, former Brooklyn judge Gerald P. Garson locked up on a three-to-10 year sentence for bribery, former Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Michael Garson yesterday pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor associated with the plundering of his elderly aunt Sarah Gershenoff's finances rather than face felony charges that could have landed him in jail for at least five years. The New York Law Journal has the story. Using power of attorney, the brothers took control of their aunt's money and allegedly used it for illegal fund transfers. A debate lingers, however. Michael F. Vecchione, chief of the Brooklyn district attorney's rackets division, said yesterday that Garson had used the power of attorney to purchase "many things unrelated to Sarah Gershenoff's care." But Garson's attorney disputed the allegation, saying the suggestion was "absolutely outrageous and I challenge him to come forward with any evidence" to support it. Meanwhile, in 2006 The Daily News reported that amid Gerald Garson's bribery probe, investigators recorded him saying, "Half of whatever [Michael Garson] took, if [Ms. Gershenoff] were to die tomorrow, half of what he took is mine."

IT'S A (WHITE) WASH
The Second Circuit has dismissed a class action suit filed against former Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman, which alleged her agency made untrue statements about the air quality at ground zero after the September 11 attacks that jeopardized the health of citizens and clean-up workers. As reported by The Daily News, a week after the attacks Whitman told New Yorkers "their air is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink." But the EPA's own air quality studies cast doubt on that assertion, and Whitman was dragged before Congress to testify. The Second Circuit cited her "inadequate management" and the EPA's "flawed" handling of the crisis, but ruled there was no evidence Whitman knew she was lying. "9/11 confronted all of us with decisions that were unprecedented in our history," said Whitman. "I am pleased that the court today confirmed what I have said -- that we at the EPA acted reasonably and made every effort to protect the people of New York."

ADULTS AND CHILDREN ALIKE
Also from The Law Journal comes word that the Appellate Division, First Department has dismissed a challenge by parents to a new city administrative policy banning cell phones in New York City public schools. The court ruled that School Chancellor Joel Klein acted within his authority in creating the ban. "While the vast majority of public school children are respectful and well-behaved, it was not unreasonable for the Chancellor to recognize that if adults cannot be fully trusted to practice proper cell phone etiquette, then neither can children," wrote Justice Angela M. Mazzarelli. "Nothing about the cell phone policy forbids or prevents parents and their children from communicating with each other before or after school. ... [T]he Chancellor reasonably determined that a ban on cell phone possession was necessary to maintain order in the schools."

THE ANONYMOUS RESTAURATEUR
Finally, The New York Sun reports that Manhattan Supreme Court Justice John E. H. Stackhouse has issued a temporary restraining order preventing for at least a week city construction in Union Square. The order stems from a lawsuit filed by neighborhood groups who allege the Park Department's $21 million renovation plan is illegal since the possible addition of a restaurant must first be approved by the state Legislature under laws that govern the assignment of public parkland for non-park uses. Plaintiffs suspect that an anonymous $7 million donor to the project might be a restaurateur in disguise. "Taking away thousands of square feet of potential playground and play space -- it's obscene, especially given the community," said Geoffrey Croft, the president of NYC Park Advocates. "Residential permits are skyrocketing. It's exploding over there."