TRENTON - A former municipal court judge who pleaded guilty to falsifying records as part of a scheme to rake in revenue for the towns he served was recommended for disbarment after what a state disciplinary board called "large-scale fraud" and a "shocking abuse" of judicial power.

Richard B. Thompson, who worked as a part-time municipal judge in nine Monmouth County municipal courts before he was suspended in 2015, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree falsifying records in February 2018 after a multiyear investigation by the county prosecutor's office.

The state Office of Attorney Ethics issued a formal motion for discipline and a 25-page brief, dated Feb. 6, asking the Supreme Court's Disciplinary Review Board to disbar Thompson, which would mean a permanent loss of license to practice law in New Jersey. He is a practicing attorney with an office in Red Bank.

The Supreme Court will review Thompson's case and issue an order. Generally, recommendations for discipline are reviewed by the board publicly, but disbarment cases are not.

He worked in Bradley Beach, Colts Neck, Eatontown, Middletown, Neptune City, Oceanport, Rumson, Tinton Falls and Union Beach.

'Severe discipline'

The brief from the attorney ethics office said Thompson removed "all neutrality from the proceedings and transformed the role of the court from a neutral and detached magistrate and evoked the specter of the backwater 'judge, jury and executioner' figure that has never had any place in American jurisprudence."

His "repeated commission of serious crimes directly from the bench" warrants "severe discipline," according to the brief.

From 2010 to 2015, Thompson funneled more than $600,000 to the municipalities that employed him by converting about 4,000 motor vehicle ticket fines to fines for contempt of court when there was no legal basis to do so, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Thompson misclassified the fines he imposed so the money would go to the municipalities he worked for instead of the state or county. Revenue from motor vehicle fines is split equally between the county and municipality, according to state law. Contempt of court fines go to the municipality exclusively.

He also admitted that he would dispose of defendants' matters without their knowledge by entering guilty pleas for them, assessing a fine and applying the remaining bail money to a contempt fine, which the attorney ethics board called a "willful disregard of defendants' due process rights."

The attorney ethics board said the "sheer magnitude" of the "fraudulent acts" —depriving the county of $600,000 — was "staggering," and that he showed a "long-standing and stunning disregard for statutory contempt procedures and for the basic due process rights of defendants before him."

Apparently, according to the brief, Thompson also threatened to incarcerate a citizen who questioned his conduct, which demonstrated his "hostility to ethical standards."

As part of his February 2018 plea agreement, Thompson can never hold public office again. He was also admitted into the state's pretrial diversionary program, which after a year of good behavior would allow a judge to dismiss the charge, making him eligible for eventual expungement.

Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman last year suspended Thompson's case until March 22, 2019.

Thompson would have faced up to 18 months in prison if he hadn't been admitted into the program.

An ongoing Asbury Park Press investigation found that towns rely on cash from courts to fund parts of their budget and that municipal judges are often pressured to raise money for the towns that employ them.

Thompson was one of the highest paid judges in the state. By cobbling together the multiple part-time judgeships in the towns, he was paid a total of $217,400 in 2014, his last full year as a judge.

In May 2018, Thompson applied for his pension, but a spokesman with the state treasurer's office said it will be publicly reviewed before the Public Employee Retirement System board.

Robert Ramsey, an attorney representing Thompson, could not be reached Wednesday.

Read more about New Jersey's broken municipal court system:

Inside the municipal court cash machine

Is it justice or a shakedown?

Municipal courts need radical reforms, according to judiciary report

Kala Kachmar: @NewsQuip; 732-643-4061; kkachmar@gannettnj.com