A Connecticut probate judge has been censured for what a state panel called a “grave injustice” in the handling of a woman’s will last year, The Hartford Courant reports.
The Council on Probate Judicial Conduct released a report Tuesday saying Southington Probate Judge Bryan Meccariello ignored the woman’s wishes to give her estate to her caretaker.
The report says Meccariello instead gave Josephine Smoron’s dairy farm in Southington to three Catholic churches that want to sell the property to a sports complex developer for $1.5 million.
Smoron was 92 when she died last year. Her 2004 will left her estate to caretaker Sam Manzo, who is suing to overturn Meccariello’s decision.
Meccariello acknowledged making mistakes and noted the council didn’t uphold Manzo’s allegations of corruption.
