A spokesman for the state court system says this week's decision by the state's top judge to retire is not connected to an ethics investigation that became public knowledge yesterday.
The spokesman Lucian Chaffen -- says Chief Judge Janet DiFiore's decision to retire was based solely on her desire to move on professionally and personally."
The legal news service Law360, citing documents and an unnamed source, reported DiFiore was under investigation for interfering in a disciplinary hearing for Dennis Quirk -- the president of the state’s court officers union.
Quirk has been a critic of DiFiore and reportedly threatened to post copies of an old newspaper story at court buildings about an alleged affair involving DiFiore.