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Prosecutor: Man Spit On, Slapped Judge Smoking Outside Daley Center

(STMW) -- A North Side man is accused of spitting at and slapping an elderly Cook County judge outside the Daley Center because he wanted her to stop smoking, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

David Nicosia got in the 79-year-old female African-American judge's face and called her "Rosa Parks" as she was taking a puff in the Daley Center plaza Monday afternoon, Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said.

Nicosia told the judge he wanted her to stop smoking and allegedly spit in her face after the two got into a verbal argument.

Nicosia walked away but the judge chased after him, Cook County Sheriff's spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said.

When she confronted him, Nicosia spit on her again, Ansari said.

Then, the 6-foot, 240 pound man allegedly slapped the judge's face.

As a result, the judge suffered pain in her left cheek and neck, Antonietti said.

Nicosia, 55, has a master's degree from Northwestern University and owns an IT company, his attorney Steven Goldman said.

Nicosia, of the 5400 block of North Sheridan Road, was ordered held in lieu of $90,000 bail Tuesday for a hate crime and several counts of aggravated battery.

Nicosia poses a "threat and is a danger to the community," Judge James Brown said.

"He slapped her for no reason," the judge said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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