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ISLAND'S ONLY WOMAN JUDGE HAILED 
AT ITALIAN CULTURAL EVENT  

Staten Island Advance. 
By Heidi Singer
Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Staten Island's only female judge was honored last night in a ceremony that was pointedly praised for its emphasis on positive role models in the Italian-American community. 

Barbara Irolla Panepinto, supervising judge for Richmond County Civil Court, was first elected to the bench in November 1996. She served two years as an acting Supreme Court justice in Brooklyn before returning to the Island as Civil Court supervising judge in March. 

In honoring Ms. Panepinto as part of the annual Italian Heritage and Culture awards, city Comptroller William Thompson praised her "outstanding dedication to her profession and her community," during the ceremony, held in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. 

Ms. Panepinto's beaming mother, Gloria Irolla of Bensonhurst,  attributed her daughter's success to enthusiasm and a lifelong love of learning. 

"She was always enthusiastic about taking on new experiences," said Ms. Irolla. 

Ms. Panepinto's career has been varied: she has also been a nurse, probation officer, mental health worker and, like the mother she credits as her role model, a teacher. 

She has contributed to numerous causes involving women and Italian Americans, as a member of the Domestic Violence Council, the Coalition of Women's Organizations of Staten Island and the American Committee on Italian Migration and National Organization of Italian American Women. 

In accepting the honor, given to Italian-Americans who have made an outstanding contribution to their communities, Ms. Panepinto praised Thompson for "celebrating the positive values and contributions of our culture." 

"I think it's a great honor," she said before the ceremony. "I'm a little bit overwhelmed to be among such distinguished honorees." 

Other honorees included the actor Paul Sorvino and longtime Carroll Gardens activist Salvatore J. "Buddy" Scotto. 

Monsignor John Servodidio of St. Joseph's R.C. Church, Rosebank, gave the invocation, and father-daughter singers Daniela and Giuseppe Taormina of Graniteville sang the Italian national anthem and "America the Beautiful." 
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Heidi Singer covers City Hall for the Staten Island Advance. 
She may  be reached at singer@siadvance.com.