Butt seriously, you need a lawyer
DA eyes ‘phone it in’ court big
The highly paid court official who accidentally butt-dialed a reporter and admitted in a voicemail message, “I barely show up to work,” is facing a criminal probe, The Post has learned.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Unified Court System’s inspector general have launched a joint investigation into former court spokesman David Bookstaver.
The disgraced staffer was fired from his $166,000-a-year job after The Post reported that he had pocket-dialed a reporter while telling at least two associates about how “I’m not doing anything.”
Bookstaver could face criminal charges if his voicemail admission — made as The Post researched a story on the ex-court big’s apparently lax work habits — is verified, sources said.
New York state Chief Judge Janet DiFiore ordered the investigation “immediately following the revelation of David Bookstaver’s conduct,” which will include “a review as to whether Mr. Bookstaver’s behavior warranted a criminal referral for prosecution or other action,” said Office of Court Admin- istration spokesman Lucian Chalfen.
Sources say the DA’s office has been working directly with the IG’s office since the allegations emerged last week.
Bookstaver, 58, could face raps for grand larceny and falsifying business records if he fudged his time cards, a law-enforcement source said.
The humiliating butt-dial came a day after The Post had asked Bookstaver to respond to claims that he showed up at work as little as two days a week.
On the four-minute voicemail, Bookstaver is heard saying, “I spoke to [the reporter] on the record for a while. I said, ‘I’m in a much less visible position; that doesn’t mean I’m not doing anything.’ ”
He added, “But, frankly, look, the bottom line: The story’s true. I’m not doing anything. I barely show up to work and I’ve been caught.”
Red-faced court administrattors held a statewide conference call with top-level managers last Friday to demand no mmore unauthorized absences and remind judges to be on the bench by 9:30 a.m.
After a change in administration in January 2016, Bookstaver was stripped of his spokesman duties but permitted to retain his “communications director” title and hefty pay, sources said.
And it turns out he wasn’t the only one with a cushy job. His wife, Kerry Bookstaver, is a “senior management analyst” for the Appellate Division and takes home a $118,000 salary.
But sources told The Post she does little work and spends her days reading and Web surfing.
“She shows up to work with magazines and newspapers,” said a recently retired co-worker.
The DA’s office declined to comment. David Bookstaver did not immediately return requests for comment.