Supreme Court Justice Charles Freeman acknowledged Friday that the wife of a lawyer whom he had appointed several times to judgeships is a co-owner of nursing homes in which Freeman also holds an interest.
The acknowledgment came only a day after Freeman asserted in an interview with the Tribune that he did not believe that Susan Karkomi, the wife of Circuit Judge Marvin Leavitt, was an investor in the nursing homes in Texas and California.
Both Freeman and Leavitt, however, asserted Friday that there was nothing improper about Freeman’s nursing home investment and that the investment and Leavitt’s elevation to the bench were not connected.
Leavitt, who married Karkomi two years ago, said he was not involved in his future wife’s investments in 1995, the year Freeman invested in nursing home partnerships put together by Karkomi’s father, Zev Karkomi. That also was the year that Leavitt obtained his first appointment to the bench from Freeman.
“It was three years before we were to get married,” Leavitt said.
Freeman said he didn’t know that Karkomi and Leavitt were dating at the time the justice made investments in the two partnerships that totaled more than $100,000.
But Freeman acknowledged Friday that Susan Karkomi’s name was on documents listing the owners of the two limited partnerships. “I didn’t see Susan Karkomi’s name there, that’s on about the fifth line down,” Freeman said.
Leavitt insisted that his experience and backing from bar groups and prominent members of the legal community were what caught Freeman’s eye.
“I think Charles Freeman advanced my candidacy . . . with the complete belief that I would function well on the job,” Leavitt said.
