MONTICELLO — After an absence of six months, Judge Frank LaBuda is once again hearing cases at the County Courthouse in Monticello.

“Frank LaBuda returned to work last Tuesday, April 18, as a county court judge and is hearing surrogate court matters,” confirmed NYS Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucian Chalfen. “He is not hearing any Supreme Court matters.”

LaBuda had agreed with that office last October to step down from his judicial duties while the State Police and Attorney General's Office investigated a September 25 confrontation between him and his brother Peter.

Peter brought a family offense case against Frank in Delaware County Family Court earlier this year, arguing Frank intentionally or recklessly ran him over with Frank's ATV on the family property in Wurtsboro, injuring the two of them. The court found Frank innocent, though it did admonish both men for acting “like a couple of adolescents.”

Chalfen said LaBuda's attorney informed the Office of Court Administration that the Attorney General's Office has now closed its investigation, with no charges pending. The AG's Office would not comment, but a separate source with the state unofficially confirmed the same to the Democrat yesterday.

LaBuda, who ran unopposed for County Court Judge in November, will now serve through 2019, when he turns 70 and must retire, according to state law.