Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Robin Partello, who filed a complaint against former family court Judge Julie Introcaso accusing her of tampering with court records in her custody case involving her son, addresses the court at Introcaso's plea and sentencing hearing Monday. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

NASHUA — Robin Partello’s trust in the justice system has sunk so low that she now has “a hard time trusting any court official …,” she told a Superior Court judge Monday.

And Partello, whose custody case involving her now 7-year-old son led to the investigation that eventually took down former family and district court judge Julie A. Introcaso, said she places the blame for that distrust squarely at the feet of Introcaso, who, until recently, a highly respected judge “with a distinguished career,” according to her attorney.

Partello — herself a practicing attorney — delivered her impassioned, at times emotional remarks to the court during Monday’s plea and sentencing hearing for Introcaso, who was spared jail time but must abide by a handful of conditions laid out in the plea agreement she and her attorney, Michael Delaney, reached with the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey Ward.

Introcaso, 57, of Bedford, agreed to enter so-called “Alford pleas” to each of the three Class A Misdemeanor charges — two counts of tampering with public records and one count of unsworn falsification. The records-tampering charges were reduced from felonies to misdemeanors as part of the agreement.

Choosing to enter Alford pleas means that Introcaso does not admit to the alleged acts with which she was charged, but believes that the state can prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Vivian Girard, one of several area residents who claimed their family court cases were affected by former Judge Julie Introcaso, affixes large signs to a vehicle in front of Hillsborough County Superior Court South before the start of Introcaso's plea and sentencing hearing Monday. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

The three sentences are identical and will be served concurrently, meaning at the same time.

They each carry a 12-month jail sentence, all suspended for a period of two years. Introcaso is required to participate meaningfully and complete any counseling, treatment or educational programs as directed, and she must perform 100 hours of community service and provide proof to the state within a year.

The series of events that led to Introcaso’s arrest in mid-February began in 2019, when Partello filed a complaint with the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) over what she called a “series of unfavorable rulings” over the course of her family court case.

That case, Robin Partello v. David Campbell, was opened in 2018 when Campbell, the father of Partello’s son, filed a parenting petition.

Partello’s JCC complaint prompted the committee to look into allegations that Introcaso’s “long-standing, close friendship” with Attorney Kathleen Sternenberg, a court-appointed guardian ad litem, may have presented a conflict of interest.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Former Nashua family court Judge Julie Introcaso, standing at the defense table with her attorney, Michael Delaney, answers questions by Superior Court Judge Charles Temple during Introcaso's plea and sentencing hearing Monday. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

Come early 2020, allegations arose accusing Introcaso of “whiting out” parts of the Partello-Campbell case records, which Introcaso initially denied, telling investigators she “didn’t know how or when it happened,” Ward said at Monday’s hearing.

Introcaso eventually admitted the white-out accusations, Ward added, saying at one point that “the more I thought about it, the clearer it became.”

Partello, meanwhile, was joined Monday by several other people who claim to have also had issues with the way Introcaso handled their cases, but Temple, the judge, denied their requests to address the court, ruling that under the governing statute, only Partello has standing as a victim.

They did, however, make their feelings known to everyone coming and going from the court by hanging large homemade signs on vehicles with messages such as “Introcaso hurt families,” “misuse of power”

and a reference to the state Constitution.

Partello recalled during her roughly 10-minute statement to the court that the process in Introcaso’s family court “had such a negative affect on my life for three years.

“I went before the judge thinking judges are ethical and trustworthy,” Partello said. “But to the contrary, judge Introcaso appointed her best friend to be the guardian ad litem in my case,” she added, referring to Sternenberg.

Partello said Introcaso and Sternenberg “collectively described the process of dealing with children as a ‘business transaction.’ These aren’t business transactions, these are children’s lives,” she said.

Partello also took exception to the lack of stand-committed jail time in Introcaso’s sentencing orders.

“She goes home, life goes on,” she said, referring to Introcaso. “It’s not fair to let her walk away from this unharmed. It would send a strong message to sentence her to 12 months in the House of Correction,” Partello added.

Temple assured Partello that the sentence the parties agreed to involved “a very difficult decision” by Ward, the prosecutor, and he agreed that “there’s been a breach of trust” that cost Introcaso her position as a judge.

Temple told Partello that “I appreciate your suggestion of a year in jail as punishment … but please don’t take the sentences as me not hearing you.”

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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