DATE: Sunday, May 18, 1997                  TAG: 9705180017

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG                      LENGTH:   42 lines

STATE DECIDES IT WON'T TAKE ACTION AGAINST JUDGE FOR LETTERS

State prosecutors said Saturday they will not prosecute Suffolk General District Court Judge Robert E. Gillette for two threatening letters sent to a former law client.

Their action follows a similar decision by federal prosecutors in December.

Gillette, 56, became a judge in July 1995 after a long private law practice in Suffolk.

After he took office, a former law client received two letters on Gillette's private stationery, bearing Gillette's signature. The letters threatened that if the former client did not sign a promissory note for an $18,500 legal bill, Gillette would tell prosecutors that the client had committed perjury in a recent criminal trial.

Gillette represented the client at that trial, and won acquittal on a charge of driving without a license.

Gillette has declined to comment on the controversy, as has his lawyer. Two former employees of Gillette have said they sent the letters without Gillette's knowledge or approval.

The Virginia State Bar slapped Gillette with a private reprimand, according to a retired Hampton lawyer who filed the complaint against Gillette. The bar's chief prosecutor declined to comment.

The U.S. Justice Department in December also ``determined that no federal action is appropriate.''

Williamsburg Commonwealth's Attorney Jeff Fairbanks worked with his York County counterpart on what he termed ``an exhaustive examination'' of the available evidence, including 14 hours of transcripts from the State Bar and material gathered in a state police investigation.

``We collectively looked at the facts,'' Fairbanks said in a statement. The key question, he said, was ``did we have a reasonable chance of conviction beyond a reasonable doubt?''

In the end, ``There wasn't sufficient evidence to proceed,'' Fairbanks said. ``We have declined to prosecute.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Gillette

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