Burton B. Roberts, 88, 'extraordinary' NY jurist, dies

When he retired as chief administrative judge of the Bronx in 1998, friends of Burton B. Roberts held a big dinner for him at the Marina Del Ray in the Bronx. A giant color photo of a grinning Roberts on an easel dominated the event.

That scene says a lot about the larger-than-life Roberts, one of the city's iconoclastic personalities of criminal justice, who died Sunday at 88.

Roberts so dominated the Grand Concourse courthouse that he was the inspiration for the character of the tough Bronx judge Myron Kovistsky in Tom Wolfe's celebrated "The Bonfire of The Vanities."

"He just was an extraordinary individual," said former Manhattan criminal courts administrative judge Robert G. M. Keating. "He combined charisma, intelligence, integrity and a personality that was outsized."

"He was passionate but compassionate and he cared about justice," said Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson.

Born and raised in Manhattan, Roberts spent virtually his entire life in public service: as a prosecutor under Manhattan District Attorney Frank Hogan, then as Bronx district attorney and finally for 25 years as a judge. Known for his gruffness and verbosity, Roberts loved being the center of attention.

Elected to the court in 1973, Roberts quickly became a force. He sometimes started questioning witnesses, once getting chided by an appellate court when he did so numerous times in one case.

As Bronx administrative judge, Roberts deferred to no one. He locked horns often with the late District Attorney Mario Merola. When Johnson instituted tough no-plea bargain policies in the Bronx in the 1990s, Roberts criticized him as well.

Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani blasted Roberts in 1996 for giving a suspect in a cop killing case relatively low bail. But Roberts came right back.

"It is not incumbent upon me to poll public officials to interpret the law for me," Roberts told Newsday.

He also didn't care for the media's obsession with him and the "Bonfire of The Vanities," especially during the trial of the Happy Land Social Club fire in which 87 people perished.

Judge Barry Kamins, chief administrative judge for the criminal courts in Brooklyn, said Roberts wasn't always combative. "He was tough as nails and with a heart of gold," Kamins said.

When he sentenced Julio Gonzalez to a life term in the Happy Land case, Roberts teared up as he listened to statements of the families of the victims.

After retiring, Roberts helped successfully defend the four cops accused of shooting African immigrant Amadou Diallo.

He is survived by his wife Gerhild of Manhattan, a brother Charles of Westchester and a number of nieces and nephews.

Funeral services are Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. in Riverside Memorial Chapel, 180 W. 76th St., Manhattan. Interment is to be at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hawthorne, N.Y.