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Steiner also serves as acting justice of the Cold Spring Village Court.
He will be resigning from that post as well on Tuesday, Sept. 20, the commission said.
According to a statement released by his attorney, Deborah A. Scalise, Steiner’s resignation “is not a consequence of the pending charges, but due to a planned retirement.”
His current terms would both have expired on Dec. 31.
Steiner has, the statement continued, “enjoyed 20 years on the bench and as an attorney for 36 years practicing law, and has devoted himself to public service throughout his career.”
Steiner “fully cooperated” with the commission’s investigation, Scalise said, emphasizing that the stipulation “makes no findings with respect to the allegations.”
Steiner “agreed to conclude this process with the understanding that the stipulation is not an admission or concession of guilt,” Scalise said.
Steiner plans to continue to participate in “bar association and other community activities,” the statement concluded.
The commission said that Steiner, an attorney who has practiced since 1972, has also agreed not to seek or accept any future judicial positions.
The commission said it informed Steiner in April that it was investigating allegations that he had used his Facebook account to “engage in direct or indirect political activity.”
The commission had also received complaints, it said, that Steiner had delayed a decision “for more than a year” in a small claims case and had failed to complete required “Continuing Judicial Education” in 2010, 2011 and 2014 in a timely fashion.
In the stipulation, Steiner asserted that he had completed all his CJE requirements and had removed all “commentary from his Facebook account.”
The commissioner’s administrator and counsel, Robert H. Tembeckjiak, did not refute Steiner’s assertions about completing the CJE requirements.
The small claims case was recorded as Anthony Fiore v. Energy Savers and Air Quality Services Inc.
Steiner has held the part-time Philipstown and Cold Spring posts since 2000, the commission said.
Steiner waived the statutory provision of confidentiality that applies to commission proceedings, “to the limited extent that the stipulation and commission’s acceptance of it would be public,” it said.
The agreement also states that the commission could revive its investigation of the complaints if Steiner violates any of the terms such as staying in office beyond Sept. 20.
According to the stipulation, Steiner notified the Philipstown town supervisor and Town Board and the Cold Spring Village Board in a letter dated July 27, 2016 of his intention to resign.
The stipulation and the Commission’s order closing the case can be found on the Commission’s website: www.cjc.ny.gov.
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