Colacino, who has not been indicted or identified by federal prosecutors in that case, was relieved of his responsibilities last week by Duch, with Bergen County presiding Municipal Judge Roy McGeady replacing Colacino until further notice.

"The press has indicated that his initials have come up frequently in this case, but at this point without an indictment, they're just allegation," Duch said. "You're innocent until proven guilty on one side, and on the other side, people are coming into Municipal Court to have cases heard, and they're having their case heard by a judge who keeps being referred to in the press."

On Nov. 14, Mahwah Realtor Michael Eliasof pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in artificially inflating the value of properties and selling them to unqualified buyers. He admitted to profiting by between $1 million and $2.5 million and making kickback payments to his co-conspirators. A Herald News review of real estate documents found that Colacino, who had a private law practice in Garfield, acted as the closing attorney on more than a dozen real estate transactions with Eliasof, who oversaw the scam.

In the federal charge, Eliasof's 10 co-conspirators are listed only by initials. A Garfield attorney identified as "W.C." maintained a trust fund for a number of deals. Last week, Colacino's assistant, Melanie Gebbia, a notary public on more than a dozen of the deals, pleaded guilty to failing to report to the Internal Revenue Service income she received from the scheme.

Colacino declined to comment on Monday, but his attorney, Miles Feinstein of Clifton, said his client denies any wrongdoing.

"Our position is he's done nothing wrong," Feinstein said. "He's presumed to be innocent, and he has not been contacted by federal authorities up until this point, nor have I."

Colacino is not suspended, but McGeady and Duch said they thought it better for him to withdraw from the courtroom until he is either cleared or indicted.

"There is nothing that precludes him from sitting next week," McGeady said. "He hasn't been charged, and we don't have access to information that could preclude him from hearing cases."

Judge Sybil Moses, assignment judge of Bergen County, will refer the matter to the state Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, according to a memo Duch sent to the mayor and council.

If Colacino is indicted, Duch said he would push for Colacino's removal; however it would be up to the state Supreme Court to discipline Colacino, according to Winnie Comfort, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the Courts. "The only body with the authority to discipline a judge in his judicial role is the Supreme Court," Comfort said.

Colacino makes $46,728 as a municipal judge in Garfield, a position he has held since 1984. Municipal judges are appointed by the local authority every three years, according to McGeady. Colacino's term ends in January 2009.

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