Jerome P. Troy

In 1971, The People First, a Dorchester community group, began a drive to remove Troy from the bench.[6] On February 4, 1972, Judge United States District Court ruled that Troy's practice of ordering female welfare recipients to swear out non-support complaints against their husbands or fathers of their children was "coercive and intimidating" and denied the men due process under the 14th Amendment by putting them on trial.[7] That same year, a three judge panel found that Troy showed discrimination against persons involved in non-support and illegitimacy cases, held defendants in jail without bail in cases that "did not warrant this result", issued bails in a number of cases that were "clearly excessive", gave "frequently excessive" suspended sentences, failed to advise defendants of their right to counsel, failed to notify defendants of their right to obtain an immediate review of their bail order, and that his court did not have a "reliable, consistent" record keeping system that contained "irregular entries...made long after the fact and for some self-serving purpose". The panel recommended that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appoint a special administrator to take over management of the Dorchester District Court, but did not recommend any discipline against Troy.[8]

In April 1973, The Boston Globe published their report of a month long investigation into Troy's business dealings. They found that he had sat in judgement on a case involving men he had a business relationship with, assigned business associates to represent indigent defendants instead of public defenders, decided cases where one side was represented by a lawyer he had a business relationship with, and had profited from a real estate transaction by dubiously claiming non-profit status. They also found that he was director of a New Hampshire firm led by George Kattar, a businessman who had links to Raymond L. S. Patriarca, head of the Patriarca crime family.[1]

In 1968, Troy purchased a 23-acre parcel of land in Dorchester. He planned to construct a marina and resort hotel on the waterfront property.[9] Soon thereafter the Massachusetts General Court approved $178,000 for a sewer extension to the property, however public outcry led to the appropriation being canceled.[1] His building permit required that he build an enclosure and use "earth and rock free of wood or organic material" to fill the tidewaters, but instead he used construction debris which contained wood. He also failed to pay the fee to fill in the tidewaters.[9] On May 1, 1970, Troy was found to have illegally filled 20 acres of wetlands with timber debris and his permit was revoked. On August 12, 1974 was ordered to remove the landfill.[3][10][9] On June 30, 1975, Troy was found in contempt of court for failing to remove the fill.[10] In 1980, Troy was found by the Massachusetts Attorney General's office to not have enough money to comply with the court order and was deemed "judgment-proof".[2] In 1982, Troy agreed to give part of the land to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In exchange, Troy's $44,000 fine was forgiven.[11] The rest of the site was donated to the Commonwealth in 1985. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection removed the toxic waste from the fill and the Metropolitan District Commission developed the land into a park. The park was opened to the public in 1988 as Victory Road Park.[9]

On November 2, 1972, the Boston Bar Association filed charges against Troy based on complaints from The People First.[12] The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appointed attorneys James D. St. Clair and Raymond Young to investigate the complaints against Troy.[1] On July 26, 1973 the Court found that Troy had lied under oath while answering questions in a lawsuit brought by an insurance company following his wife's death, pressured an attorney into making a political contribution to Francis X. Bellotti, "willfully directed the filling of Tenean Creek in an illegal manner" and subsequently lied during his testimony in a suit brought against him for the filling, had a court officer work on his marina project during court hours, and obtained free legal services from attorneys who practiced in his court. The Court ordered that Troy be disbarred and enjoined from sitting as a judge.[12] The Massachusetts General Court approved a petition calling for Troy's removal and on November 8, 1973, the Massachusetts Governor's Council voted 7 to 1 to remove Troy from the bench, with the ninth member, Patrick J. McDonough, abstaining due to his friendship with Troy.[13] On November 1, 1974 his disbarment was upheld by the US Court of Appeals.[14]