A community’s character, its ethos, is made clear by the behavior of its people. Herkimer ethos is bad people helping bad people.
We’ve lived in Herkimer for eleven years. We’ve seen it welcome and shelter wholesale drug and child traffickers, protect a notoriously malfeasant cop from arrest or firing, consistently reelect a criminal-coddling DA, protect bustling trafficking properties, and shrug off blogger beatings. We’ve written extensively about Herkimer’s tolerance of aberrant behavior and asocial monsters, blogged and videoed about it, and memorialized it in a book.
Herkimer giving sanctuary to disgraced former New York Supreme Court Judge Erin P. Gall is no surprise. To quote from our Herkimer crime posts, “‘It’s just Herkimer,’ folks say with a shrug.” It was done with a practiced sleight of hand, a bit of Herkimer Machiavellism, which has long succeeded as no one was watching. They’re watching now.
Who is Erin P. Gall?
Gall was a Republican New York State Supreme Court Judge in neighboring Oneida County. In 2022, she unleashed a vicious, 90-minute racist diatribe at a group of Black teens attending a party at her friend’s house. These were local, “clean-cut kids”, as one of the judges who recommended Gall’s removal remarked. The police video of Gall belittling the kids and threatening to shoot them eventually became public and went viral:
In July 2024, the New York State Commission on Judicial Misconduct recommended Gall’s removal from the bench, stating:
“It is utterly unacceptable for a judge to threaten gun violence, exhibit racial prejudice, promise favorable treatment for the police, or disparage a law intended to keep guns away from dangerous people. Any one of these things would undermine public confidence in the administration of justice. That one judge committed all this and more disqualifies her from further service on the bench.”
Jumping before she could be pushed, Gall resigned her judgeship on 12/15/24. End of story? No.
New York State found her conduct “utterly unacceptable.” But it was OK with Herkimer County. On 1/4/25, Gall began her new job as assistant county attorney in Herkimer at $108,105 a year, reported the New York Times. The job is responsible for juvenile justice matters, per the job description: [It}examines and coordinates materials and efforts related to presenting juvenile delinquency cases, represents Herkimer County in bankruptcy proceedings, and does general legal research for the Herkimer County Attorney’s Office.
Gall needed a job and Herkimer threw her a lifeline. Officially, she was appointed by Herkimer County Attorney Lorraine H Lewandrowski. Ms. Lewandrowski serves at the pleasure of the Herkimer County Legislature and is the perfect scapegoat for problems with the appointment of Gall. Folks familiar with the Herkimer government say Lewandrowski wouldn’t have made any appointment unless the county legislature supported it—specifically, Republican Chair Bob Hollum.
Hollum’s serving three years probation after accepting a plea deal this month on drug and gun charges. It being New York, he retains his position of public trust.
Erin Gall’s Stealth Herkimer Appointment
No. 451 – A communication was received from the County Attorney submitting notice of appointment of Assistant County Attorney. Filed.
Herkimer’s assistant county attorney job had all the hallmarks of a political patronage plum. it was open for months, per reliable information. It’s a good, well-paying job and would have had numerous applicants. $100k+ goes a long way in rural New York. But only when Gall needed a job was it filled.
Resigning her judgeship on 12/15/24, Gall stated she’d accepted a position beginning 1/2/25, after searching for a job in September and October–the job with Herkimer County. In her accompanying affidavit, she noted the national and local coverage given the police videos of her diatribe.
Foolishly assuming that such a controversial appointment would have been brought before the Herkimer County Legislature, I searched its minutes. I found only a brief action item, noting the appointment of an unnamed assistant county attorney by the county attorney. It was buried in the minutes of the meeting of 10/23/24, page 2:
No. 451 – A communication was received from the County Attorney submitting notice of appointment of Assistant County Attorney. Filed.
Had the notorious Erin Gall’s been named as the appointee, objections might have been raised. County Attorney Lewandrowski would never have made that appointment on her own. It would have needed a sponsor, like County Legislature Chair Bob Hollum . Lewandowski went along to get along. Which makes her the fall guy should a wave of opprobrium slam the legislature.
Not to worry. Herkimer isn’t given to moral outrage. it’s been a month since the New York Times revealed Gall’s appointment—no wave of opprobrium. Folks in Herkimer tend to be either complicit, craven or cowed–conditioned by years of unchallenged gang activity the Feds finally squelched. Indeed, local Republicans, the ruling party here, support Gall’s appointment. Reflecting Herkimer’s ingrained backwoods racism, Herkimer County Clerk and Republican Chair Sylvia Rowan was quoted by the Times as saying
Ms. Gall’s behavior at the party was something people “will probably frown at.” But… “to question her ability in her job and what she did in that situation is different.” “I’m a firm believer in second chances,” she added.
I feel sorry for any Black kid falling under Gall’s authority.
It’s not too late for the Herkimer County Legislature to redeem itself by firing Gall. Given the underhandedness of her appointment, most of its members have plausible deniability.
New York Times journalist Shayla Colon covers New York City, with a focus on boroughs outside Manhattan. While with Hearst, she covered Upstate New York. Her email address is shayla.colon@nytimes.com. Anonymous tips can be sent her via the Times tip address: https://www.nytimes.com/tips
Stay safe, Herkimer.