Federal bankruptcy judge resigns
Follows decision to plead no contest to drunken driving
A federal bankruptcy judge from Boston who pleaded no contest Wednesday to driving while intoxicated in Manchester, N.H., resigned yesterday.
US Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma called Gary H. Wente, circuit executive of the US Courts for the First Circuit, from the Caribbean, where he had gone for a previously arranged vacation, and resigned, Wente said.
"After speaking at length with Judge Somma, upon reflection, he came to the decision that it was best to put this behind him," Wente said.
Somma, who filled a vacant seat on the court in 2004, will be on paid leave until his resignation takes effect April 1. He was earning about $158,000 a year, Wente said.
Somma was arrested by police in Manchester at about 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, after he rear-ended a pickup truck at a traffic light in Manchester. No one was hurt in the accident, after which Somma was charged with driving while intoxicated and following too closely.
Somma's lawyer, John J. Cronin III of Bennington, N.H., had no comment except to say that the judge did not consult him about resigning.
Somma pleaded no contest Wednesday to a first-offense misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated in Manchester District Court and agreed to pay $600 in fines and penalties. He also agreed to a yearlong suspension of his driver's license, although that can be halved if he successfully completes a driver-education and alcohol-awareness course.
Susan Goldberg, deputy circuit executive of the US Courts for the First Circuit, said Somma could have continued to serve as a judge despite the plea.
Somma was appointed by the judges of the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to a 14-year renewable term in 2004. He was one of five federal bankruptcy judges in Massachusetts.
Wente said Somma, who specialized in bankruptcy and insolvency in his private law practice for 27 years before his appointment, was "an absolutely excellent judge, first rate."
Lee Harrington, a bankruptcy lawyer in Boston, said he appeared before Somma a half-dozen times. The judge was always well prepared on the bench, even-handed, reserved but courteous, he said.
"I think that his resignation reflects the seriousness with which he regarded the position and the importance he placed on the integrity of the process," said Harrington.
Daniel M. Glosband, another Boston bankruptcy lawyer, said he worked with Somma at a law firm in the 1970s and 1980s and has always thought highly of him.
"I think he was an excellent lawyer, I think he was an excellent judge, and I'm very sad that he's chosen to resign," he said.
Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com. 