FOR THE RECORD
Three years after NYPD Chief Michael Shortell died in a freak electrocution, his sister is struggling to keep his memory alive with a memorial run that has received waning support from fellow cops.

The Third Annual Chief Michael Shortell Memorial 5K Trail Run/Walk will be held in a new venue this year, Wawayanda State Park in Hewitt, N.J., on Sept. 13. Chief Shortell's siblings sponsor the race, which benefits a memorial scholarship fund.

"Our purpose was to honor our brother," said his sister, Liz Avicolli. "We wanted a day to remember him. This year we are hoping to get more people out there."

Chief Shortell's family has sent fliers to every precinct in the city to attract more law-enforcement personnel to attend. "We thought we would get a lot of comfort in having this [but] we are just not getting the turnout and we don't know what to do," Ms. Avicolli said.

The idea for a memorial run stemmed from Chief Shortell's love of jogging and the department's response to his death in 2005. "They were so supportive and sympathetic. We were touched," she said. "We wanted to thank them for all they did."

Chief Shortell was electrocuted in front of his children in Pearl River, N.Y. after a nasty storm on July 18, 2005 that flooded the basement of his residence. The Bronx Narcotics leader tried to use an electric pump, but it shorted out and killed him at the age of 44. "He was always such a cautious person," said his sister, noting the irony.

For the past two years Chief Shortell's family has collaborated in picking the winner of the scholarship contest, judging essays from students about people who inspired them. "It was inspiring," said Ms. Avicolli. "We felt very good about doing it. We know Michael would be very proud."

Race-day registration, which costs $20, begins at 10 a.m. The run/walk start time is 11 a.m. rain or shine. A post-race party begins immediately following the race. Children's races will be held during the post-race party. There will be food, refreshments and music. For additional information, entry forms or directions go to www.inmichaelshonor.com.

Volunteers are urged to contact Liz Avicolli at 732-961-6941, or by e-mail at lizavicolli@optonline.net.

***

An attorney defending the state against a lawsuit claiming the denial of a pay raise for judges since 1999 violates their rights under the Constitution told an appeals court last week that the wage freeze was a mild one compared to the Ice Ages of the past two centuries.

The New York Law Journal reported that during a Sept. 3 hearing before an Appellate Division panel in Albany, private attorney Richard Dolan stated that New York judges had their pay frozen from 1894 to 1925, and that from 1846 to 1869, a law prevented salaries for state Court of Appeals Judges from being increased.

One Appellate Justice, Karen Peters, responded, "So that means the Legislature could hold the judiciary hostage for decades?"

The Law Journal quoted Mr. Dolan as replying, "It's not, 'can' they. They've done it in the past."

Albany officials have expressed a willingness to significantly increase pay for state judges to make salaries — which are currently $136,700 — competitive with what their Federal counterparts receive, but there have been two prime roadblocks to making that happen. The State Legislature has traditionally linked boosts in judicial pay to increasing the salaries of its own members, and former Governor Spitzer last year refused to consider a legislative hike unless it was accompanied by other reforms governing lawmakers' outside compensation. More recently, Governor Paterson has contended that the state's fiscal condition is so bad that it could not afford to raise judges' pay.

The appeal centered on a ruling by Acting Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara that by withholding a pay raise so long that the salary of a Supreme Court Justice had been ravaged by inflation, lawmakers had violated the Constitutional provision against reducing the pay of sitting judges. While the judge presiding over the appellate panel said that to his knowledge there had been no previous court ruling that supported that argument, Justice Peters wondered whether there was some point at which inflation could be considered to have had that effect. She noted that, unlike legislators, judges are prohibited from taking second jobs.

A separate suit on judicial pay has been brought by state Chief Judge Judith Kaye.