A Philly judge could face discipline for promoting his wife’s popular cheesesteak shop

A Philadelphia judge could face discipline over his promotion of his wife’s cheesesteak shop — a rare move from the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board.

The board, in a complaint made public Tuesday, said Common Pleas Court Judge Scott DiClaudio — who is on probation for an earlier ethics violation — eroded public trust in the judiciary through his involvement with Shay’s Steaks at 16th and Race Streets, just blocks from the Criminal Justice Center, where DiClaudio presides.

Citing online reviews and media coverage — including a pun-laden Inquirer feature that referred to DiClaudio as “Whiz Honor” — the board accused the judge of violating the Code of Judicial Conduct. The allegations include abusing “the prestige of the judicial office” for personal gain, and allowing the cheesesteak shop to interfere with his judicial obligations.

“Judge DiClaudio, while on court probation, engaged in conduct that was so extreme that it brought the judicial office itself into disrepute,” the board wrote.

The complaint said the judge regularly shared his position with customers, hanging the articles about his work on the walls, and at one point “going so far to take an out-of-town customer to observe court while her husband conducted business.”

The board said the judge has been spotted at Shay’s as early as 3 p.m. on a weekday, and frequently responds to Google reviews, “occasionally becoming combative in tone with unfavorable reviews” and giving out his cell phone number to resolve complaints.

The board said the judge did seek the “informal” advice of the Pennsylvania courts’ Judicial Ethics Advisory Board before opening the restaurant, but he did not request an opinion in writing.

DiClaudio, in his response to the board’s filing, denied he had ever promoted any connection between his job and the restaurant, which is named after his mother. He said he prides himself on “dedication, attentiveness and work ethic,” and often works late into the night.

“I would submit that of the thousands of patrons who have visited Shay’s, nary a one went there because they hoped a judge would make them a sandwich,” he wrote. “I’d imagine that most people paying for food would want a trained professional or chef to make their meals.”

In an interview Tuesday, he said: “I didn’t realize being a nice person puts the court in disrepute, while putting a person in jail for riding a dirt bike for two to four years does not warrant even a hearing,” he said, referring to the judge who jailed Philly rapper Meek Mill.

“I look forward to a full and fair hearing to determine whether this court is in ‘disrepute,’” he said.

A spokesperson for the Philadelphia courts declined to comment Tuesday.

Pennsylvania’s Judicial Conduct Board, which is made up of 12 judges, attorneys, and others, fields hundreds of complaints against judges each year but very rarely takes public action.

In 2023, the board received more than 820 complaints, and found that in 58 of them, there was sufficient evidence to support allegations of misconduct. But after conducting investigations and weighing mitigating factors, the panel filed formal, public charges in only three cases.

This week’s filing marks the second time the board brought charges against DiClaudio, who was elected to the bench in 2015.

He was found to have violated the judicial conduct code in 2020 when he omitted debts from his mandatory financial disclosures and repeatedly defied orders to pay thousands of dollars in bills to a Bala Cynwyd fitness club. He was suspended for two weeks and placed on probation until 2026.

Charles Geyh, a professor of judicial conduct and ethics at Indiana University Bloomington, said previous allegations of misconduct are often an important part of the judicial conduct board’s decision to bring a case.

“If you have already had a judge who has been suspended and is still not listening,” he said, “it increases the probability that you’re looking at thermonuclear sanctions.”

DiClaudio has spoken openly about his plans to retire at the end of his term in 2026. The judge, who mostly hears post-conviction petitions, is known for his brash personality on the bench. He has drawn headlines for publicly chastising prosecutors in District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office, which previously sought to disqualify him because of an employment complaint brought by DiClaudio’s former girlfriend.

Two other Philadelphia judges have faced discipline in recent years.

Common Pleas Court Judge Mark Cohen was suspended without pay until the conclusion of his term for political social media posts. And Municipal Court Judge Marissa Brumbach was hit with a six-month suspension for concocting a plan to find defendants who didn’t show up for traffic court guilty or not guilty in absentia — while she was taking an unauthorized vacation day in Florida.